Portrait of Elgar

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982 019315448X. First printing of revised and enlarged second softback edition of biography first published in 1968. VG. No inscriptions or annotations. 391 pages with illustrations, chronological list of works, recordings conducted by Elgar., references, bibliography etc. Promotional illustrated National Trust leaflet for Elgar's birthplace is included. The public image of Elgar as patriotic country squire was established in his lifetime, but, in reality it concealed a highly complex, sometimes baffling, private individual. Praise for previous editions: "A brilliant biography....Elgar is no easier to capture on the page than he was to deal with in life. Yet Mr. Kennedy succeeds superbly, displacing the flabby legend of Elgar as an Edwardian musical blimp with a convincing portrait of a complex, lonely man of great gifts whose music, composed for the most part in the shadow of the Schoenbergian revolution, has never quite achieved the place it deserves."—The New York Times Book Review. "Swift, persuasive...As a character study it is better than a novel since it deals with the real life of a great composer."—Times Literary Supplement. "Masterly...A rich rewarding book."—Music and Musicians .