ESO Gala Concert

Our Gala this year is built around the two works that frame Elgar’s unique career as a composer of orchestral music. His ‘symphony for chorus and orchestra’ The Black Knight is one of his earliest works, and with it Elgar astounded the musical world with his brilliance, originality and mastery of his vast choral and orchestral forces.

His final major orchestral work, the Cello Concerto, holds a unique place at the heart of British musical culture. It is heard here in the version for viola prepared by Lionel Tertis and premiered under Elgar’s baton in 1930 in a performance by the outstanding violist Rosalind Ventris, who wowed Elgar Festival audiences in 2025 with her poetic interpretations of works by Venables and Fribbins. We open with our final celebration of Featured Composer Thea Musgrave – her rollicking and joyful suite The Seasons.