Elgar composed Falstaff in 1913, though he had made some sketches for it as early as 1902.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Elgar considered Falstaff a musical self-portrait, reflecting his own complex personality, humour, and dreams of youth.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Elgar intended for listeners to focus on the Falstaff of Shakespeare's Henry IV and V, rather than the buffoon from The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Recording & Production
This recording was made in 1974 at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, with Michael Woolcock as Producer and Kenneth Wilkinson & John Dunkerley as Recording Engineers.
Compositional Technique
Falstaff is structured in four continuous sections with two interludes, based on Elgar's own analytical notes.
Compositional Technique
The main Falstaff theme appears as a leitmotif throughout the work, representing him as 'in a green old age, mellow, frank, gay, easy, corpulent, loose, unprincipled and luxurious'.
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