蜜芽传媒

Meet Edward Elgar - composer of Land of Hope and Glory, moustachioed symbol of Empire, and not obviously the kind of man Adrian Chiles would feel a deep connection with. But spend a little time with Elgar - really listen to him - and a very different character starts to emerge.

In Finding Elgar, Adrian Chiles heads out into the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire - where both he and Elgar spent their formative life - and sets out to rescue Sir Edward from the clutches of empire and stuffy concert halls. Along the way, he finds a surprising kinship with the composer - both Midlands-born, both Catholic, both prone to mood swings and bursts of enthusiasm, Adrian starts to see Elgar not as the voice of the establishment, but as a man constantly on the edge of it.

Adrian takes us from London concert halls to the hearing Elgar's music played on the Malvern Hills, via his father's music shop, his cottage birthplace and the church organ loft where the composer learned his craft. We follow Adrian as he traces Elgar鈥檚 journey from self-taught son of a piano tuner to national treasure - and asks how a composer with so much doubt, mischief and melancholy ended up as the soundtrack of British establishment.

Along the way, he meets musicians, scholars and fellow fans who all help to build a picture of the man behind the moustache. A man full of contradiction, tenderness and a love of silly games (including one involving beards).

Contributors include Ian Venables, a composer and fellow Worcester resident; the music writer Jude Rogers; flautist Catherine Handley; and academic and oboist Uchenna Ngwe. Adrian also meets Adrian Brown, the founder of the Elgar Sinfonia, and goes into the hills with Shulah Oliver, a professional violinist from Elgar country. Tom Allenby reads excerpts from Elgar's letters and W.H. Reed's biography.

Producer: Katie Hill
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam
An Overcoat Media production for 蜜芽传媒 Radio 4