Elgar arr. Hartman: Nimrod from Enigma Variations for Brass Quintet

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) was probably the most prominent English composer of the turn of this century. He had no formal musical training but came from a musical family; his father played organ at St. George's Roman Catholic Church in Worcester and owned a music store. He began composing at the age of ten for a family play. One of his most beloved works is Variations on an Original Theme known popularly as Enigma Variations - written for orchestra. The enigma concerns aspects of the theme itself, what its meaning is and also the identity of another - unstated - theme that overshadows the variations yet is never actually played. The fourteen variations were conceived as character sketches of friends of Elgar's, including himself and his wife. Nimrod is a nickname for Elgar's publisher, A. J. Jaeger. Jaeger means hunter in German and Nimrod is a mighty hunter of the Old Testament Bible.

Scott Hartman received his BM and MM degrees from the Eastman School of Music and began his career by joining the Empire Brass Quintet and the Boston University faculty in 1984. As a trombone soloist and with his various chamber ensembles, Scott has taught and played concerts in all fifty United States and throughout the world. Mr. Hartman presently performs and records with Proteus7, the Millennium Brass, the Brass Band of Battle Creek and the trombone quartet Four of a Kind. Scott heads the trombone departments of Yale University and Boston University. At the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Mr. Hartman teaches a two-week workshop for aspiring trombonists. More information concerning Mr. Hartman and his present activities is available at his website: www.slushpump.com.