Description

Edward Elgar's "Salut d'amour" is renowned for its hauntingly beautiful melody. Composed in 1888 as a gift for his future wife, Caroline Alice Roberts, the work quickly became an enormous success. Elgar's surviving autographs reveal his intention to create arrangements for various instrumentations, but only three versions - for violin and piano, cello and piano, and solo piano - were officially authorized.

The piano version holds special significance, as Caroline Alice Roberts was Elgar's piano student. This suggests the composer may have rewritten the original violin and piano arrangement specifically for his fiancée and eventual wife. In addition to the first published edition, we have now evaluated Elgar's own autograph engraver's copy for the first time.