About this edition
Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 1 in A-flat major, Op. 55, arrived in December 1908 with a confidence and scale that few English orchestral works before it had dared to claim. Its noble opening motto theme—marked "Andante. Nobilmente"—returns transformed at the symphony's close, binding a four-movement architecture of great emotional range, from hushed introspection to blazing triumph. Within just over a year of its premiere the symphony received more than one hundred performances across Europe and America, a reception unmatched by any British symphonic work of its era and one that instantly established Elgar as a composer of international stature.
This edition reproduces the first edition full score published by Novello & Co. of London in 1908, issued in the immediate wake of the symphony's triumphant premiere under Hans Richter, to whom the work is dedicated. Novello was, at the time, the preeminent publisher of English concert music, and this print represents the composer's own working generation of the score—the notation, markings, and layout as they were first placed before conductors and orchestras. For scholars and performers, a first edition score offers a direct link to the original performance tradition, free from the accumulated editorial interventions of later reprints.
About this edition:
- Format: Full orchestral score (conductor's score)
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Reproduced from a public domain historical source
- Publisher: Purple 4R Publishing
Because this score has entered the public domain, we're able to bring this historic Novello first edition back into print, affordably and faithfully, for conductors, orchestral musicians, students, and Elgar enthusiasts alike. We hope this edition helps keep a landmark of the symphonic repertoire on stands and in libraries for years to come.
