Apostles centenary work records Elgar's struggle

To mark the occasion, author Michael Foster is bringing out Plotting Gigantic Worx: The story of Elgar's Apostles Trilogy.

It tells of the struggles Elgar went through to create The Apostles and its successors, The Kingdom and the never-written The Last Judgement.

Work on the trilogy brought Elgar to the verge of a nervous breakdown, says Foster, and possibly the contemplation of suicide, as he considered he had failed in what he tried to achieve. Thereafter the composer could never acknowledge the greatness of the two completed works.

The book, sponsored by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orch-estra, is being launched on Friday, June 20, at the Elgar Birthplace Museum, Lower Broadheath.

The launch will include an appearance by Sakari Oramo, the CBSO's music director.

He said: "I welcome Michael Foster's book which explores, in an imaginative way, Elgar's struggles to create two highly imaginative works.

"Performers and audiences alike will, I am sure, warm to this portrait of Elgar as a man trying to make sense of his beliefs and who never quite allowed himself enough time to realise the ultimate ambition of his creative life."

The book first appeared in 1995, but is now being republished in a fully revised and expanded edition for the centenary.

Its author is a member of the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, and holder of degrees both in law and in music. He spent his professional life in the probation service.

In October, the CBSO is performing The Apostles twice and, on each occasion, Mr Foster will give a pre-concert talk on the work.

Plotting Gigantic Worx is the first title published by The Worcester-shire Press, an imprint specifically set up to bring out books on British music and musicians.

Mr Foster, who is the company's managing editor, is currently working on his next book, That Necessary Human Touch, a biography of Sir Charles Groves, one of the most influential conductors of the 20th Century.