British newspapers have been full of polemics about the composer Edward Elgar recently, and much of the debate has been over who gets to claim Elgar, and for what purpose. “Great art has a dimension beyond the local, and it is true that Elgar could do with more foreign champions, because his music isn’t as well-known beyond these shores as it should be. But that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate it for what it says to and about us.”