McVeagh makes the point that, because these works of the 1890s were for many years little known (and performances remain rare), the mastery of his first great success, the Enigma Variations, appeared to be a sudden transformation from mediocrity to genius, but in fact his orchestral skills had been building up throughout the decade.
McVeagh sinala que, debido a que estas obras da década de 1890 foron durante moitos anos pouco coñecidas, e interpretadas con pouca frecuencia, a mestría do seu primeiro grande éxito, as Enigma Variations, parecía ser unha transformación repentina da mediocridade ao xenio, mais de feito, as súas habilidades orquestrais foran desenvolvidas ao longo da década.