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A solution to Elgar's "Enigma"?
Published: 2/10/2012 2:52 PM
Last Modified: 2/10/2012 2:52 PM


The story Thursday about the Signature Symphony’s upcoming concert of music by the English composer Edward Elgar concert mentioned that a number of solutions as to the “Enigma” in the “Enigma Variations” have been proposed, but the mystery still remains.

Robert W. Padgett, a violinist, composer and devotee of Elgar’s life and music, begs to differ.

Padgett has devoted a considerable amount of time and effort is sussing out the mystery theme that, in Elgar’s words, “never appears” in the “Enigma Variations.”

In short: it’s the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” composed around 1528 by Martin Luther.

Padgett lays out his very meticulous reasoning for his thesis – which involves some fairly high-level analysis of musical cryptography – at his website, which can be viewed here.

Is he right? Possibly? Does knowing this enrich the experience of listening to Elgar’s “Enigma Variations”? Perhaps, but not likely. Audiences have loved this particular composition from the moment it premiered in 1899, and and part of the allure of the piece is that its central mystery remains just that – a mystery. And that allows the listener to create a “solution” as to what the piece signifies in his or her own mind.

The “Enigma Variations” will be performed as part of a concert featuring Tchaikovsky Competition winner Narek Hakhnazaryan performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto. The performance is 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at the VanTrease PACE. For tickets call 918-595-7777 or go here.



Reader Comments 2 Total
172704 (12 months ago)
Elgar's employs an ingenious alphanumeric cipher to encode the letters E.F.B. within the Mendelssohn fragments of Variation XIII. These are the initials for the unstated Principal Theme - Ein feste Burg.
172704 (12 months ago)
Elgar also uses a music box cipher to encode his 'dark saying' in the opening measures of the Enigma Theme. This secret message provides the name of the hidden friend for Variation XIII, and confirms the title of the unstated Principal Theme.
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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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