Julian Bliss Returns to Sage Gateshead

Royal  Northern Sinfonia welcomes back clarinettist Julian Bliss, a young musician who has been making waves on the orchestral scene for his dextrous and animated performances. Still only 24, unlike most critically acclaimed musicians, Bliss made his way into the public eye at the mere age of four, appearing on television. He now presents sold out concerts at Wigmore Hall, and performs alongside the likes of the London Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra. Bliss joins the leading chamber orchestra for Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto, a work that is both elfin yet punchy as it makes its way through a vast soundscape. Having previously recorded the work with the orchestra, audiences can already get a taster of just how well the artistic combination works by downloading the recording from Apple iTunes or listening on Spotify. Classic FM described it as follows: All the works collected here showcase the attractive qualities of Bliss’s playing, rich and fruity in the showier passages, effortless in the demanding runs made by Nielsen in particular and, at the sublime moments, appropriately mellifluous and sonorous. Bliss comments on his previous experiences with the orchestra: Sage Gateshead is absolutely amazing. The acoustic is great, our producer and engineer on the project were raving about it all week ...The Orchestra are so welcoming and very hard-working which made it a real pleasure. Bliss has arranged works for the clarinet, including Rimsky-Korsakov’s demanding Flight of the Bumble Bee and Prokofiev’s Sonata No.94, and his talents don’t stop there, dabbling at leading musicians from the podium. Off stage, Bliss is self-confessed petrol-head, enjoying off-road motorcycling and car racing. Not your average classical music performer! Under conductor Mario Venzago, the orchestra also performs Brahms Symphony No.2 – a work beloved by many, and full of glowing melancholy and piercing brightness, with that instantly recognisable lullaby tune. Purcell’s Fairy Queen Suite brings a touch of period charm to the proceedings.