Aldeburgh Festival

Repertoire

• Shostakovich Festive Overture
• Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor
• Britten, arr. Edward Gardner Suite from The Prince of the Pagodas
• Bartók Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin

Performers

• Edward Gardner conductor
• Alban Garhardt cello

Elgar’s timeless Cello Concerto, played by Alban Gerhardt, sits at the heart of a programme that draws together musical influences from around the world.

It begins with the celebratory spirit of Shostakovich’s Festival Overture, followed by Alban Gerhardt making his first appearance of the Festival with Elgar’s sublime Cello Concerto.

Benjamin Britten’s long-held passion for music from India and South-East Asia informed both his own compositions and the concerts he programmed for the Aldeburgh Festival. In 1957, Britten’s Balinese-inspired music for his ballet The Prince of the Pagodas received its premiere at the Royal Opera House. This concert pairs Edward Gardner’s suite from that work with the distinctive soundworld of music from Bartók’s ballet, The Miraculous Mandarin.