Edward Elgar supported himself as a young violin teacher in Worcester, playing numerous chamber music recitals. During this time, he developed a close relationship with Dr. Buck, an enthusiastic amateur cellist, whose Yorkshire home Elgar often visited. There, he played for the family and wrote smaller compositions. He dedicated his famous Enigma Variations to his circle of friends, which included some of his musical companions. Although Elgar felt a strong desire to write string quartets, he initially found no publishers or interested ensembles. His wife proudly reported that he would work for hours on end on a quartet; sketches from this period later found their way into his First Symphony and Music Makers. During the First World War, Elgar focused on patriotic works. To escape the hustle and bustle of the city, he retreated to Brinkwells in West Sussex, where, surrounded by nature, he composed chamber music pieces such as a violin sonata, a string quartet, and a piano quintet. Following a tonsillectomy, Elgar began work on the quartet, using the inspiring environment of Brinkwells to translate shifting moods between melancholy and joy into music. His chamber music from this period displayed a distinctly conservative style and differed from his earlier works: the string quartet felt nervous and introspective, while the piano quintet was more expansive and refined. Composed in 1919, the quintet surprised listeners with the prominent role of the piano, as Elgar otherwise rarely composed for this instrument. Bernard Shaw explicitly praised the quintet, placing it among the most important works since Coriolanus. With his chamber music, Elgar captured the public's attention and demonstrated both his versatility and compositional skill.
