Edward Elgar’s Salut d’amour is one of those pieces by the British composer that has a particularly haunting melody. The short work also had a special significance for the composer. Caroline Alice Roberts had been having piano lessons with Elgar since 1886. Their teacher-pupil relationship soon blossomed into love and they became engaged in 1888.

It was in this year that Elgar composed “Salut d’amour” for his bride, initially with the German title “Liebesgruß”. They got married in 1889 and th...