Proms 2023 Prom 14: Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations

‘The Enigma I will not explain – its “dark saying” must be left unguessed …’ So wrote Edward Elgar of his career-making ‘Enigma’ Variations. What’s not in question, however, is the tender playfulness of orchestral variations inspired by the composer’s friends and family, including the noble, much-loved ‘Nimrod’. Pianist Jan Lisiecki joins Elim Chan and the BBC SO for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 – a Romantic tussle between conflict and lyricism. The concert opens with the European premiere of Noriko Koide’s silkworm-inspired Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain, commissioned for last year’s BBC Proms Japan.

There will be no interval

Image: Elim Chan © Willeke Machiels