Four Last Songs
Four Last Songs
We regret to announce that Lucy Crowe has had to withdraw from this performance due to seasonal illness. We are so grateful that the internationally-renowned soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn is stepping in to sing the same programme.
Wagner Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV 96
Strauss Oboe Concerto in D major, TrV 292
Wagner Prelude to Act III from ‘Lohengrin’, WWV 75
Strauss Four Last Songs, TrV 296
Elizabeth Llewellyn soprano
Gordon Hunt oboe
Marios Papadopoulos conductor
In 1948, Richard Strauss sensed the end was nigh. Germany lay in ruins, its major opera houses destroyed by war. As his attempts to ignite a cultural rebirth in his homeland proved futile, Strauss turned to music. His final goodbye was a series of four iconic orchestral songs that, in the words of David Bowie, ‘ache with love for a life quietly fading.’ Elizabeth Llewellyn joins the Orchestra for a performance of Strauss’s profoundly moving musical epitaph alongside the Orchestra’s Solo Oboe Gordon Hunt performing Strauss’s tender Oboe Concerto written just a few years earlier.
The Sheldonian Theatre is a unique space to experience live music. To see an interactive map of the theatre click here.
27 Nov 2025
Tickets: £18, £30, £40, £54
(Students from £5)
Duration: 120 min
Venue: Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street
(Students from £5)
Upcoming events
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26 Feb 2026 – 19:30
Guest conductor from Spain Antonio Méndez leads the orchestra with guitarist Plínio Fernandes for company.
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28 Feb 2026 – 19:30
Principal woodwinds of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra take centre stage in a concert welding classical poise to unadulterated beauty.
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Brahms German Requiem
08 Mar 2026 – 18:00
Two outstanding soloists and the Crouch End Festival Chorus join the orchestra and Music Director Marios Papadopoulos for Brahms’s masterpiece.
Learn More
Spanish Nights
Feb 26 2026 – 19:30
Guest conductor from Spain Antonio Méndez leads the orchestra with guitarist Plínio Fernandes for company.
Learn More
Ravel Introduction and Allegro
Feb 28 2026 – 19:30
Principal woodwinds of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra take centre stage in a concert welding classical poise to unadulterated beauty.
Learn More
Brahms German Requiem
Mar 08 2026 – 18:00
Two outstanding soloists and the Crouch End Festival Chorus join the orchestra and Music Director Marios Papadopoulos for Brahms’s masterpiece.
Learn More