Elgar’s Enigma Variations

November 1 – 3, 2024

ANU TALI conducts
ANNE-MARIE MCDERMOTT piano

ALISSON KRUUSSMAA Five Arabesques for Chamber Orchestra 
AMY BEACH Piano Concerto
ELGAR Variations on an Original Theme “Enigma”

It’s a harmonic convergence of distinguished women in music. DSO favorite Anne-Marie McDermott joins with Estonian conductor Anu Tali for Amy Beach’s Piano Concerto and Alisson Kruusmaa’s ethereal Arabesques. Elgar’s crowning achievement, Enigma Variations, hides an unsolved mystery that has puzzled music sleuths for more than a century: what is that Original Theme? No one has ever discovered it. But we do know that he’s portraying 14 friends, disguised in irresistible tunes and “inside jokes,” with the soaring heart of the work — the stirring “Nimrod” Variation — paying tribute to a beloved friend. 

Join us for a special pre-concert talk with Assistant Conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg! The talks will take place from Horchow Hall starting at 6:30pm on Friday and Saturday and 2:00pm on Sunday. On Sunday, in addition to the pre-concert talk, stay for the panel discussion “The Legacy and Future of American Women Composers” at 5:30 PM in the East lobby near the Kelly panels.

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Anu Tali

Conductor

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Anne-Marie McDermott

Piano

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