In 1983 I wrote a score for Granada TV's production with Sir Laurence Olivier, directed by my friend Michael Elliot. Being for TV and not a movie, the score consists of a lot of rather short cues – a fact disliked by Olivier (who was nostalgic for the music of William Walton). In making this free-standing concert piece, I combined various short sections into four larger ones – ignoring the original running order and concentrating on the central character of Lear and his mental state. After a primitive sounding fanfare, the first movement presents Lear in his court with some pomp and ceremony. Then comes the storm – a storm both physical and mental for Lear and a rare opportunity for the composer to go ‘over the top’ without worrying about the audibility of the text. The third part - “crowned with flowers” - depicts Lear’s returned to sanity and calm. The final Epilogue attempts the impossible task of reconciling this ecstatic state with the bleak tragedy that lies behind it