Introduction and Allegro, for string quartet and string orchestra, Op. 47

The piece is one continuous span, but it moves through clear sections.

It begins with a big, striding theme in the full strings, bold and slightly grand, followed by a gentler, more searching moment where the solo quartet steps forward for the first time. Listen for the contrast of four players against many, which feels like a conversation between a small group and a crowd.

A lyrical tune with a folk song feel appears, played by a solo viola. Elgar said he heard a Welsh melody, and its easy, singing line is a calm point before the energy returns.

The quick main section, the Allegro, starts with a lively, hurrying subject. Partway through there is a fugue, which is a passage where one tune is passed from player to player, entering one after another. Here it is fast and scrubbed, with the strings digging in. Afterward the opening striding theme returns, and the music builds toward a grand, full-sounding finish, with the quartet and orchestra playing together. The last chords come with a firm, ringing close.

Elgar wrote this piece in 1904 and 1905, after a trip to Wales, where he had heard a tune in the air near the Welsh coast that stayed with him. He had wanted to write a piece that showed off the sound of a string orchestra, and he divided the group by adding a small solo quartet. The first performance was in London in March 1905, with Elgar conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. At first the reception was lukewarm, but the work soon found its audience, and Elgar himself came to regard it highly. It is now a standard of the string repertoire, played by chamber orchestras and full symphony orchestras alike.