EDWARD ELGAR (1857-1934)
Enigma Variations (1899)
It was Joseph Cooper, who, according to the November 3, 1991 London Sunday Telegraph, cracked the code of Sir Edward Elgar’s mystery: the “Enigma” theme of his famed Variations. The composer launched the guesswork with words that have had inquiring minds scratching their heads for more than a century: “The enigma I will not explain—its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the apparent connection between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes,’ but is not played.... So the principal Theme never appears, even as in some late dramas ... the chief character is never on stage.” Guesses have included everything from “Auld Lang Syne” to the slow movement of Mozart’s Symphony No. 38 (John Cooper’s candidate) to “Rule Britannia”—but none of them wholly satisfactory. Elgar introduces his Theme and then follows it with 14 Variations, each bearing the initials or disguised names of the “friends pictured within.” The musical portraits reflect not only the personality of the subject, but also an unmistakable characteristic or event associated with each of them. By now all the characters have been identified satisfactorily, except perhaps “XIII ***,” but even that mystery may have been solved. But the true enigma may never be known. Some of the highlights of this marvelous work include: “I (C.A.E.)” passionate music for Elgar’s wife Caroline; “VIII (W.N.)” includes a suggestion of Winifred Norbury’s laugh; “IX (Nimrod)” August Jaeger, Elgar’s dear friend, whose name translated from the German means “hunter,” and Nimrod is the Old Testament hunter; “X (Dorabella)” Dora Penny and her slight stammer; “XI (G.R.S)” George Robertson Sinclair’s bulldog Dan’s happy bark; and finally “XIV (E.D.U.)” Elgar himself, whom Lady Elgar called by his pet name Edoo. Whether we will ever puzzle out the answer to the enigma, the one certainty is that this composition is Elgar’s crowning achievement, beloved by concertgoers everywhere.

Xian Zhang became music director of La Verdi (the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi) at the start of the 2009–10 season. In April 2009 she conducted that orchestra in a concert at the Salla Nervi of the Vatican City for the Pope and President of the Republic of Italy. Prior to this appointment, she served as the New York Philharmonic’s Associate Conductor (and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair) for three years, having previously held the position of Assistant Conductor.

In Europe, future highlights include debuts with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, where her program includes the world premiere of Mikko Heiniö’s Moon Concerto; and Orchestre National de Belgique, with whom she will appear at the Europalia Festival. Other European engagements include the London Symphony Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia at the Verona Festival, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Residentie Orkest, and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. She will also conduct the NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, SWR Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, and Vienna Symphony at the 2011 Bregenz Festival, and the ORF Radio Symphonie Orchester Wien at the Vienna Konzerthaus.

In North America, upcoming engagements include her debuts with the New Jersey and National Symphony Orchestras; The Minnesota Orchestra; and a return to the Juilliard Orchestra, following her recent tour with the ensemble to China. Last season she appeared with the Chicago, Toronto, and Indianapolis symphony orchestras and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As an opera conductor, Xian Zhang made her debut with Puccini’s La bohème for English National Opera in spring 2007, and conducted Puccini’s Turandot in Beijing in May 2009.

Born in Dandong, China, Xian Zhang made her professional debut conducting Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Central Opera House in Beijing at the age of 20. She trained at Beijing’s Central Conservatory, earning both her bachelor and master of music degrees, and served one year on its conducting faculty before moving to the United States in 1998.

Violinist Sheryl Staples joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Associate Concertmaster (The Elizabeth G. Beinecke Chair) in 1998, and made her solo debut with the Orchestra in 1999. Previously she was the associate concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra and concertmaster of the Pacific Symphony and Santa Barbara Chamber orchestras. She has appeared as soloist with more than 40 orchestras, including The Cleveland Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic; participated in the Santa Fe, La Jolla, Brightstar, Martha’s Vineyard, and Seattle chamber music festivals; and been a faculty artist at the Aspen, Bowdoin, and Sarasota music festivals. She is a former member of The Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio, and currently performs with the New York Philharmonic Ensembles and the Lyric Chamber Music Society. Ms. Staples was a scholarship student at the Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, Young Musicians Foundation Scholar, and W.M. Keck Scholar at the Colburn School of Performing Arts, spending summers at the Encore School for Strings. She earned an artist diploma from the University of Southern California. Ms. Staples performs on the “Kartman” Guarnerius del Gesù, ca. 1728.

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Violinist Michelle Kim has been Assistant Concertmaster (The William Petschek Family Chair) of the New York Philharmonic since 2001. She has performed as soloist with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, New Jersey Philharmonic, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, and Pacific Symphony. An active chamber musician, Ms. Kim has collaborated with violinists Cho-Liang Lin, Christian Tetzlaff, and Pinchas Zukerman; cellists Mstislav Rostropovich, Lynn Harrell, and Gary Hoffman; and pianists Lang Lang and Yefim Bronfman. She has performed at the Santa Fe Chamber Music, La Jolla Chamber Music, Strings in the Mountain, and Bravo! Vail Valley Music festivals. She has also served as the first violinist of the Rossetti String Quartet, and was a Sterne Virtuoso Artist at Skidmore College in 2007–08. A former Presidential Scholar, Ms. Kim attended the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music as a Starling Foundation scholarship recipient. She has been a member of the faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music; Colburn School of Performing Arts; and University of California, Santa Barbara. Michelle Kim currently teaches at the Mannes College of Music.

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