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Elgar’s Enigma

Fri / Nov 21, 2025 - 8:00PM

Unlock a world of musical puzzles and revelations during an evening of British and Austrian masterworks.

No Longer Available

Program

About this Performance

Please note: Due to an injury, Sheku Kanneh-Mason will be unable to perform in today’s 2pm concert with the LA Phil. Edmund Finnis’ Cello Concerto will no longer be performed as part of today’s program. The rest of the program remains unchanged. 

For further assistance, please contact Audience Services at information@laphil.org or 323 850 2000. 


Elgar’s Enigma Variations contain one of the most fascinating mysteries in British classical music. Consisting of a theme and 14 variations—some dark and searching, others playful and assertive—the orchestral work builds upon a wistful theme that was written as a countermelody to an unknown piece that Elgar never shared. A century later, no one has cracked the code to the secret tune. Roberto González-Monjas opens the program with another set of variations, this time by Korngold, overflowing with golden harmonies and a folkish warmth.   

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, “a cellist so talented it is simply outrageous” (The Courier and Evening Telegraph), reunites with the LA Phil for the world premiere of an Edmund Finnis concerto. After working together on Kanneh-Mason’s 2022 album Song, the cellist described the British composer’s work as “distinctive in character and perfectly written for the cello.” 

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