26 Feb 2025, Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
Discovering Bliss at Nottingham
Discovering Bliss at Nottingham
Michael Seal conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in three of Sir Arthur Bliss’s works; his Miracle in the Gorbals, Overture, Things to come: March, and Metamorphic Variations.
Michael Seal conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in three of Sir Arthur Bliss’s works; his Miracle in the Gorbals, Overture, Things to come: March, and Metamorphic Variations.
Change of Conductor
Michael Seal replaces John Wilson who has had to withdraw for family reasons.
Performers
Stephen JohnsonOn Stage Presentation
Concert information
Perhaps one of the most inexplicably neglected names in twentieth-century classical music, Sir Arthur Bliss (whose Piano Concerto is featured on 24 October) was, in his day, an ired composer of music for the concert hall, stage and screen, his achievements recognised when he was made Master of the Queen’s Music after the Second World War. In the 1920s and 30s he embraced the modernism of Stravinsky and leading French composers before moving towards a more traditionally English and Romantic style tinged with continental hues.
As this concert reveals, Bliss’s music is unfailingly engaging: rhythmically taut with melodies that can be both heartfelt and hard-edged. Beginning with two resonant examples of his ballet and film music, Broadcaster Stephen Johnson offers an insightful introduction, with live musical illustrations from the BBC Philharmonic, before a complete performance of his late masterpiece, the Metamorphic Variations. Written for the Croydon Arts Festival in 1972, and inspired by the paintings of Wiltshire artist George Dannatt, it’s one of his most colourful and imaginative scores, making virtuosic use of a large orchestra with an impressive battery of percussion.
