British composer Brian Elias has just had his Cello Concerto premiered at the Proms, is enjoying positive reviews of his retrospective album 'Electra Mourns' on NMC, and is looking forward to a revival of The Judas Tree – Kenneth MacMillan's last ballet, for which Elias composed a specially commissioned score – at the Royal Opera House this October. Gramophone's Deputy Editor Sarah Kirkup meets with him to reflect on a lifetime of composing, and to find out what it was like to collaborate with one of the finest choreographers Britain has ever produced.