A very parfit gentil knight of music

One of the many things which makes me love Edward Elgar is that both the man and his music are so tremendously unfashionable. No wonder tax-funded quangos set up to ‘promote culture’, and run by New Labour bureaucrats, are refusing to mark his 150th birthday. He does not correspond with their criteria of approval at any point. He was white. He was English. He was middle class. He was a patriot, he loved his country and revered its monarchy: his second symphony was dedicated to Edward VII, who was kind to him and chose him as the first musician to receive the Order of Merit. He found the appalling losses we suffered in the first world war unbearably painful, and his agony is reflected in his music, notably the tragic cello concerto, to my mind his finest work. He identified himself wholeheartedly with the English people, their past, their nobility, their humour, their courage and resilience — yes, their follies and weaknesses too.