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===Marriage===
[[File:Elgar-Alice-c1891.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Nineteenth century photograph of a man in his 30s and a middle-aged woman standing side by side. He has a large moustache, and is looking at the woman; she is looking straight at the camera.|Edward and Alice Elgar, c. 1891]]
When Elgar was 29, he took on a new pupil, [[Caroline Alice Elgar|Caroline Alice Roberts]], known as Alice, daughter of the late [[Major-General (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] Sir Henry Roberts, and a published author of verse and prose fiction. Eight years older than Elgar, Alice became his wife three years later. Elgar's biographer [[Michael Kennedy (music critic)|Michael Kennedy]] writes, "Alice's family was horrified by her intention to marry an unknown musician who worked in a shop and was a [[Roman Catholic]]. She was disinherited."<ref name=dnb/> They were married on 8 May 1889, at [[Brompton Oratory]].<ref name=maine/> From then until her death, she acted as his business manager and social secretary, dealt with his mood swings, and was a perceptive musical critic.<ref>"Some of Elgar's Friends", ''The Musical Times'', April 1934, p. 319</ref><ref>Moore (1984), p. 587</ref> She did her best to gain him the attention of influential society, though with limited success.<ref>Moore (1984), p. 134</ref> In time, he would learn to accept the honours given him, realising that they mattered more to her and her social class and recognising what she had given up to further his career.{{refn|When Elgar was knighted in 1904, his daughter Carice said, "I am so glad for Mother's sake that Father has been knighted. You see – it puts her back where she was".<ref>Moore (1984), p. 440</ref>|group= n}} In her diary, she wrote, "The care of a genius is enough of a life work for any woman."<ref>Kennedy (1987a), p. 147</ref> As an engagement present, Elgar dedicated his short violin-and-piano piece ''[[Salut d'Amour]]'' to her.{{refn|''Salut d'Amour'' became one of Elgar's best-selling works, but initially he earned no royalties, having sold the copyright to the publisher Schott for a flat fee of 2 guineas; Schott later decided to pay him royalties.<ref name=dnb/><ref name=grove/>|group= n}} With Alice's encouragement, the Elgars moved to London to be closer to the centre of British musical life, and Elgar started devoting his time to composition. Their only child, Carice Irene, was born at their home in [[West Kensington]] on 14 August 1890. Her name, revealed in Elgar's dedication of ''Salut d'Amour'', was a contraction of her mother's names Caroline and Alice.<ref>Reed, p. 33</ref>
Elgar took full advantage of the opportunity to hear unfamiliar music. In the days before miniature scores and recordings were available, it was not easy for young composers to get to know new music.<ref>Anderson, Robert, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1002931 "Elgar's Musical Style"], ''The Musical Times'', December 1993, pp. 689–90 and 692. Retrieved 23 October 2010 {{subscription}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319060558/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1002931 |date=19 March 2021 }}</ref> Elgar took every chance to do so at the [[Crystal Palace Concerts]]. He and Alice attended day after day, hearing music by a wide range of composers. Among these were masters of [[orchestration]] from whom he learned much, such as [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]] and Richard Wagner.<ref name=grove/> His own compositions made little impact on London's musical scene. [[August Manns]] conducted Elgar's orchestral version of ''Salut d'amour'' and the Suite in D at the Crystal Palace, and two publishers accepted some of Elgar's violin pieces, organ [[voluntary (music)|voluntaries]], and [[part song]]s.<ref name=reed23>Reed, p. 23</ref> Some tantalising opportunities seemed to be within reach but vanished unexpectedly.<ref name=reed23/> For example, an offer from the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, to run through some of his works was withdrawn at the last second when [[Arthur Sullivan|Sir Arthur Sullivan]] arrived unannounced to rehearse some of his own music. Sullivan was horrified when Elgar later told him what had happened.{{refn|Sullivan said to Elgar, "But, my dear boy, I hadn't the slightest idea of it – why on earth didn't you come and tell me? I'd have rehearsed it myself for you".<ref>Reed, p. 24</ref>|group= n}} Elgar's only important commission while in London came from his home city: the Worcester Festival Committee invited him to compose a short orchestral work for the 1890 Three Choirs Festival.<ref>Reed, p. 25</ref> The result is described by [[Diana McVeagh]] in the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', as "his first major work, the assured and uninhibited ''[[Froissart Overture (Elgar)|Froissart]]''." Elgar conducted the first performance in Worcester in September 1890.<ref name=grove/> For lack of other work, he was obliged to leave London in 1891 and return with his wife and child to Worcestershire, where he could earn a living conducting local musical ensembles and teaching. They settled in Alice's former home town, [[Great Malvern]].<ref name=grove/>
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