Britten, Bridge, Delius & Elgar

Image by vieleineinerhuelle from Pixabay

Saturday 20 June 2026, 7:30pm
The Sheldonian Theatre

Britten - Four Sea Interludes
Bridge - Oration
Elgar - Falstaff

Tim Posner 'cello
Robert Max conductor

Britten's Four Sea Interludes, from his opera Peter Grimes, focus on the sea and the inhabitants of a fishing village. The interludes are used for changing scenes within the opera, and portray different moods, from a sea dawn to a stormy maelstrom.

Bridge's Oration, played for us by Tim Posner, is in the style of a cello concerto. This hidden gem is a expressive work, written to express grief over the tragedy of war.

Elgar has long admired Shakespeare's plays, and wrote this symphonic study to portray Falstaff. The four movements, and two interludes, capture scenes from Falstaff's life, including: Falstaff and Prince Hal in the Boar's Head, Falstaff jesting with the landlady, and Falstaff hurrying to London for the pomp and circumstance of the coronation.