British Library acquires torn-out drafts of Edward Elgar masterpiece

Exclusive: sketches for Introduction and Allegro for Strings had been removed from sketchbook by composer in 1930

The British Library has acquired previously unknown sketches and drafts by Sir Edward Elgar for one of his best-known masterpieces, Introduction and Allegro for Strings.

Spanning 15 pages, they shed light on the creative process of Britain’s most revered composer. One bears the beginnings of an unknown organ piece on which he had started work.