Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia & Harding

In his famous Enigma Variations, Edward Elgar reveals himself to be a skilled cryptographer: each variation contains a musical reference to family or friends. His wife Alice is there, and so are his publisher Augustus Jaeger – immortalised in the stately Nimrod Variation – and Elgar himself. From the introspective opening melody, Elgar subtly develops a wide range of musical characters: from humorous and light-hearted to passionate and poignant. The British star conductor Daniel Harding leads the Academia Santa Cecilia from variation to variation before guiding you through Brahms’ magnificent Piano Concerto No. 1. The pianist Igor Levit, called “one of the most important artists of his generation” by The New York Times, reveals why this early work is a masterpiece in its own right.