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)
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May 10 2026 – 15:00
Join Soloists of the Oxford Philharmonic in New York for an evening of Gershwin and celebration of America at 250.
Learn More
FUNomusica Family Concert: An Interstellar Odyssey
May 10 2026 – 16:00
Calling all space rangers young and old to join Captain Alasdair Malloy and the brave crew of the Oxford Philharmonic on a musical voyage through the stars!
Learn More
Sir John Rutter Birthday Celebration
May 14 2026 – 19:00
Join the Oxford Philharmonic for a joyful evening celebrating the birthday of one of Britain’s most beloved composers and conductors.
Learn More