During his lifetime, and in the course of the twentieth century, Edward Elgar and his music became sites for a remarkable variety of nostalgic impulses. These are manifested in his personal life, in the content of his works, in his critical and biographical reception, and in numerous artistic ventures based on his character and music. Today Elgar enjoys renewed popularity in Britain, and nostalgia of various forms continues to shape our responses to his music. From one viewpoint, Elgarian nostalgia might be dismissed as escapist, regressive and reactionary, and the revival in Elgar's fortunes regarded as the symptom of a pernicious 'heritage industry' in post-colonial, post-industrial Britain. While there is undeniably a grain of truth to that view, Matthew Riley's careful treatment of the topic reveals a more complex picture of nostalgia, and sheds light on Elgar and his cultural significance in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

A study of nostalgia in the music of the popular twentieth-century composer Edward Elgar.

About the Author
Matthew Riley is Lecturer in Music at the University of Birmingham.

Reviews
Review of the hardback: '... a heavyweight and widely researched production, at its most distinguished when close descriptive musical analysis focuses ideas and sets off fascinating trains of thought.' Musical Times
Review of the hardback: 'It is built round various abstracts nouns, each applied to Elgar in turn.' The Times Literary Supplement
Review of the hardback: 'There is a particularly limpid and acute discussion of the relations between music and literature involved...' The Times Literary Supplement



Book Information
ISBN 9780521863612
Author Matthew Riley
Format Hardback
Page Count 254
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 510g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 16mm