'The musical equivalent of St Pancras Station' ( Thomas Beecham on Elgars 1st Symphony)

'Look out for this man's music, he has something to say and knows how to say it' (Hubert Parry)

'Gentlemen, let us now rehearse the greatest Symphony in modern time, written by the greatest modern composer' (Hasn Richter on the first Symphony)

'Elgar might have been a great composer if he had thrown all that religious paraphernalia overboard. Gerontius is a nauseating work ' (Delius)

'My, that is a sublime masterpiece' (Pope Pius XII)

(Elgar telling Delius what flying in an aeroplane is like):-
'To put it poetically , it is not unlike your life and my life. The rising from the ground was a little difficult, you cannot tell how you are going to stand it. When once you have reached the height it is very different. There is a delightful elation in sailing through gold and silver clouds. It is Delius, rather like your music, - a little intangible sometimes, but always very beautiful. I should have liked to stay there for ever. The descent is like our old age, peaceful , even serene.'

Note the above was quoted in the Daily Telegraph in 1933 , the year before they both died (as well as Holst)