February 23, 1934 — Edward Elgar dies

Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO was one of the greatest English composers of the pre-WWII era. He wrote across a range of styles of music, influenced more by European composers (especially Dvorak and Handel) than his English predecessors (indeed, he was noted for his dislike of the English folk music tradition). He also was one of the first composers to experiment with and understand the potential of the gramophone, and recorded music in general.

His reputation has varied over the years – he fell out of favour after the First World War, but his work has been re-assessed by critics since the 1960s. His best known work today is The Engima Variations.