Did you know that Elgar's Enigma is "Pi"?

[Ntalikeris666]

Well many musicians were also science persons and that has affected their work. This is a really nice example of this case.

 

[JHC]

My dear nimrod I was not criticising you or the theory, I don't really have any thoughts one way or another, for those that want to solve puzzles such as this I wish them well and I will retain a passive interest, Regards

 

[nimrod]

My dear nimrod I was not criticising you or the theory, I don't really have any thoughts one way or another, for those that want to solve puzzles such as this I wish them well and I will retain a passive interest, Regards

Dear JHC, There is no offense taken, rather I thank you for reading my post and giving me your feedback. I know that solving riddles is not the primary interest of most people but I just stumbled upon the enigma solution and want to share it with as many people as possible. I enjoy talking about Elgar after researching his life and work for the past 3 years.

In a way I find I am up against the "establishment" who do not want the enigma solved, much as Elgar was up against the "establishment" of university educated composers in his time. Ironic.

Aside from that I find Elgar's enigma to be quite clever. Imagine trying to fit decimal Pi, fractional Pi, and "Four and twenty blackbirds" all into the first six measures of a piece. And then to have the piece become a masterpiece. Elgar was remarkable.

 

[Contratrombone64]

The establishment, eh? In a line from the Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance) when asked if he though a life of piracy was honourable, he said: "compared with respectability, it's comparatively honest" ...

 

[JHC]

CT are you a G&S follower

 

[nimrod]

One of my online friends observed that Elgar's 1929 hints were issued with his Pianola (Pi-anola) rolls. Could that be one more hint that Pi was the enigma??

 

[Contratrombone64]

Lets get one thing clear shall we... the enigma has not been solved as only Elgar can do that with complete certainty (he's not answering his phone at present), all that has happened is that another plausible theorum has been put forward.

 

[nimrod]

Lets get one thing clear shall we... the enigma has not been solved as only Elgar can do that with complete certainty (he's not answering his phone at present), all that has happened is that another plausible theorum has been put forward.

Who would believe Elgar? He told us there was an enigma but one of the "plausible theorums" suggests that Elgar had no enigma but just wanted to tease us to distraction. Another of the "plausible theorums", Auld Lang Syne, was flatly denied by Elgar when suggested by Dorabella, but she did not believe him and wrote a book in which she still declares that the enigma is Auld Lang Syne.

There is only one "plausible theorum" that can relate to Elgar's 1929 statements issued with release of his EV pianola rolls, and it is not Auld Lang Syne.

I will admit that the title of my thread is only my humble opinion, but I put it out there to enlighten and to elicit other opinions. Thanks to all who have taken time to respond.

 

[Corno Dolce]

Therefore, a riddle wrapped up(enshrouded) in mystery inside an enigma.............:lol::lol::lol::smash::smash::smash:

 

[nimrod]

"Solving Elgar's Enigma" is now printed in the latest issue of Current Musicology published by Columbia University.

One additional piece of evidence was added. Elgar wrote a double bar after the sixth measure. The double bar usually indicates the end of the work but since it came before the end of the phrase, it obviously meant something else. It ended the string of Four and twenty blacknotes baked in Elgar's Pi.

Cheers.