In memory of Queen Elizabeth II, the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra presents it's first in a series called "From the FWYO Vault" exploring performances over the years.
This performance of Edward Elgar's "Nimrod" from the Enigma Variations is from the 2018 Fall Concert at the University of North Texas.
'Nimrod' has a long history of being tied to royal mourning, being performed at Princess Diana's funeral and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's funeral. It is also commonly performed on the last night of the Proms and numerous other solemn events worldwide.
The Enigma Variations are musical portraits of Elgar's friends and family. Variation IX ('Nimrod') is an homage to Augustus J. Jaeger, Edward Elgar's close personal friend and publisher. Elgar is said to have mentioned that this variation wasn't really a portrait, but a story about a moment where Jaeger encouraged him to keep composing at a low moment in his life. Jaeger encouraged Elgar by reminding him of Beethoven's tenacity and singing the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 Pathétique, which the opening notes of Nimrod quotes. A play on related words, Nimrod is an Old Testament figure who is described as "a mighty hunter," Jäger being German for hunter - similar to Augustus Jaeger's last name.