Excerpted from a Q&A with the late Colin Davis…Q: Sir Colin, Edward Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius is very popular in the UK but heard less often in Germany. Why do you think that is? A: That is hard to explain. As a young man, Elgar was quite famous in Germany. The work was performed in Dusseldorf. Richard Strauss attended, and acknowledged the work’s significance. Perhaps Gerontius is less well known because the text appears to have come straight from the Vatican. This work also addresses the issue of dying. If you think what it must be like on your deathbed, you start to dream – that is Gerontius’ dream.
