‘La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra & Altinoglu’

What do an architect, a secretary, a poet’s son and a friend with a stutter have in common? The answer to this riddle lies in the title of this concert. In his Enigma Variations, Edward Elgar pays a teasing tribute to his friends, colleagues and loved ones through a series of variations bearing their initials or colourful nicknames: R.B.T., Dorabella, W.N. and Nimrod. All the variations are based on a theme improvised by the composer one evening at the piano which his wife Alice had greatly enjoyed. Elgar is also said to have encrypted the score … Although the enigma remains unsolved, the composition occupies a prominent place in the repertoire. With Benjamin Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn and strings and Thomas Adès' The Tempest, la Monnaie Orchestra closes its season with flair.