The Memoir of Edward Elgar

Each variation in the ending of Variations is about a different close friend or loved one of Elgar's. The entire piece is a sometimes teasing but always loving tribute to his closest friends and family. But it's kind of sad music right? You might even be wondering why Elgar even chose such a sad theme as his basis for this friendly Variations. Throughout his life he was a melancholy man and was even prone to episodes of depression. This melancholy only intensified after World War I.