Editing Enigma Variations (section)

{{short description|Musical composition by Edward Elgar}}
{{for|the Enigma Records compilation album|Enigma Variations (album){{!}}''Enigma Variations''}}
[[File:Edward Elgar, ca. 1903, by Charles Frederick Grindrod.jpg|thumb|Elgar in 1903]]
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Italic title}}
[[Edward Elgar]] composed his '''''Variations on an Original Theme''''', [[Opus number|Op.]] 36, popularly known as the '''''Enigma Variations''''',{{Efn |Also published as ''Variations for Orchestra'', ''Variations on an Original Theme'', etc.}} between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen [[variation (music)|variations]] on an original theme.

Elgar dedicated the work "to my friends pictured within", each variation being a musical sketch of one of his circle of close acquaintances (see [[musical cryptogram]]). Those portrayed include Elgar's wife [[Caroline Alice Elgar|Alice]], his friend and publisher [[August Jaeger|Augustus J. Jaeger]] and Elgar himself. In a programme note for a performance in 1911 Elgar wrote:
{{blockquote|This work, commenced in a spirit of humour & continued in deep seriousness, contains sketches of the composer's friends. It may be understood that these personages comment or reflect on the original theme & each one attempts a solution of the Enigma, for so the theme is called. The sketches are not 'portraits' but each variation contains a distinct idea founded on some particular personality or perhaps on some incident known only to two people. This is the basis of the composition, but the work may be listened to as a 'piece of music' apart from any extraneous consideration.{{efn|name=Turin|Elgar's programme note for a performance of the ''Variations'' in Turin, October 1911}}|}}
In naming his theme "Enigma", Elgar posed a challenge which has generated much speculation but has never been conclusively answered. The Enigma is widely believed to involve a hidden melody.{{Citation needed|reason=Widely believed by who?|date=February 2023}}

After its 1899 London premiere, the ''Variations'' achieved immediate popularity and established Elgar's international reputation.