In about 1898-99 he wrote a piece called the "Enigma Variations" - each of the variations (14 all told) was dedicated in a peculiar way to a friend or someone close to him. These weren't musical compositions that tried to depict the personality of one of these lucky few, but rather a memorable event in their relationship and they are variations on a theme that isn't written down anywhere - all rather peculiar and obscure to say the least. Think of it as 14 little vignettes - short stories; remembrances - I recall the time when....
One of the movements, perhaps the most famous, is titled "Nimrod" - you know, the biblical hunter and Jaeger a music editor and something of a sounding board for Elgar at his publisher - well Jaeger is German for hunter so this movement is for him. It is amazingly simply writing but I've heard good orchestras spend a lot of rehearsal time on these 4 minutes because, like all complex things, it is very easy to just get it O'K but almost impossible to get it right.
Tomorrow's my birthday. This is my happy place music for the day.