The Short

NOTATION OF ACCENTS AND DYNAMICS 133
probably intended to allow greater power and volume. DvoŘák often used this sign to indicate a lightly accented,
barely detached note, especially in piano passages (Ex. 3.88(a),) but like Tchaikovsky and Elgar he probably used it at
times to ensure that the players would give the note its full value (Ex. 3.88 (b).) Sometimes, in the Cello Concerto for
instance, there is a suggestion that he may have envisaged an element of agogic accentuation in its execution (Ex. 3.89.)
Ex. 3.86. Elgar, Enigma Variations op. 36: (a) theme; (b) variation XI; (c) variation XI