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"Nimrod" from Enigma Variations
Edward Elgar, arranged by Alfred Reed
The orchestral work Enigma Variations comprises fourteen variations on an original theme. Each variation serves as a musical sketch of a different close acquaintance. “Nimrod,” the 9th variation, represents Elgar's friend A. J. Jaeger. It is said to capture a discussion between Elgar and Jaeger on Beethoven's slow movements. The name is a play on words, as the biblical Nimrod was a great hunter and the German word for “hunter’ is Jaeger.
Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934) was an English composer of orchestral works, many of which have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Pomp and Circumstance is another of his famous compositions.