Naked Classics: Enigma Variations

The Oregon Symphony brings Naked Classics: Enigma Variations to the Newmark Theatre on Friday, January 29, 2027, at 6:30 PM. It's part of their Special Concerts series, and the whole evening is built around music educator Paul Rissmann, who leads with a multimedia, laid-back, and interactive presentation of Elgar's Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36—better known as the Enigma Variations.

If you've never heard the piece, here's the basic idea: Elgar wrote it as a series of musical portraits of his circle of family and friends in rural Worcestershire. Each variation is a sketch of a specific person in his life, and Rissmann's job is to bring those characters to life before the music even starts. He'll introduce figures like Winifred Norbury, Arthur Troyte Griffith, and Dora Penny, and Elgar himself, so by the time the symphony plays the full work, you actually know who the music is talking about. It turns a piece that can feel like an inside joke into something you can follow along with.

On stage, Rissmann is joined by Music Director and Conductor David Danzmayr, with the symphony providing the full performance of the Enigma Variations after the presentation. It's a good way to approach a classic if you're not usually one for sitting through a long orchestral work without a bit of context to hold onto.

The show runs on Friday, January 29, 2027, at 6:30 PM at the Newmark Theatre in Portland. It's one of the Oregon Symphony's Special Concerts for the season.