Reasons for this perceived waning of interest could include the performance of "The Dream of Gerontius" and the Violin Concerto earlier the same week, the presence of two other composer-conductor premieres on the programme, or the high ticket prices. The emotional disconnect between an audience eager for the coronation of a new monarch and a brooding symphony in mournful commemoration of the late king may have also affected the reaction. Regardless, the lukewarm response prompted Elgar to remark to Henry Wood immediately upon exiting the stage, "Henry, they don't like it, they don't like it", and complain to W. H. Reed shortly thereafter, "they sit there like a lot of stuffed pigs." In the aftermath of the symphony's premiere, Elgar was "despondent" and subsequently entered "one of his periods of despair."