Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Classical Music - Sunday 23 February 2014

Edward Elgar passed away 80 years ago. Catherine Bott takes a look at some of the great composer's lesser-known vocal music.

This week, Catherine Bott marks the 80th anniversary of the death of Sir Edward Elgar, who passed away on this day in 1934.  

And there's a particular emphasis on some of the composer’s lesser-known music written for singers. This includes his religious choral music, such as The Dream of Gerontius, his songs with words written by his wife, and an extraordinary recording of the Sea Pictures.  

Plus – symphonic music from Dvorak that Elgar played as a young violinist, and a work by a certain German composer whose music changed Elgar’s life forever.