The Wand of Youth Suites, nos. 1 and 2, are two pieces for orchestra composed by Edward Elgar. While still a boy, Elgar composed some tunes for a play staged by the young members of his family. He noted the tunes in a sketchbook and four decades later arranged the music as the two Wand of Youth Suites (also employing some material he had composed while employed at the Worcester City and County Lunatic Asylum). He gave the suites the Op. 1 number, as they were his earliest surviving works, albeit now scored with the mature Elgar's mastery of orchestration. Benjamin Britten would later follow Elgar with a similar project, using his own early pieces as the basis of his Simple Symphony. The two suites were published by Novello & Co. in 1908. The First Suite has seven sections and is dedicated 'To my friend C. Lee Williams'. It was first performed at the Queen's Hall, London on 14 December 1907, conducted by Henry Wood.
