Puw, Schubert [Performance On 3]

Tom Service presents the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Jac van Steen from Swansea's Brangwyn Hall in the second part of a concert inspired by two great mythical tales, one Greek and one Welsh.

Stravinsky's edgy neo-classical score is the perfect vehicle for the ritualistic drama of Oedipus Rex, driving the action forward as Sophocles's hero searches for the cause of the curse on Thebes, with the inevitable realisation that he is the contagion and has fulfilled the fate that he would kill his father and marry his mother.

Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex

Oedipus - James Gilchrist (tenor)

Jocasta - Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano)

Shepherd - Timothy Robinson (tenor)

Messenger - Neal Davies (baritone)

Creon - Darren Jeffery (bass)

Tiresias - Stephen Richardson (bass)

Narrator - Philip Madoc

Estonian National Male Choir

Jac van Steen (conductor).

Followed by Pianothon, showcasing the talent of amateur pianists across the UK:

Schubert: Impromptu in B flat op. 142

Jennifer Chan

Schubert: Impromptu in G flat, op.90

Michael James

From Swansea's Brangwyn Hall, BBC NOW under Jac van Steen in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex.

Performance on 3 has been replaced by Radio 3 Live in Concert.

Tom Service presents the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Jac van Steen from Swansea's Brangwyn Hall in the first part of a concert inspired by two great mythical tales, one Greek and one Welsh.

Gutu Puw's work, which begins the programme, takes its inspiration from the closing section of the Branwen tale in the Welsh folk legend the Mabinogion. A group of warriors has been allowed to feast for 80 years without any memories of their past ordeals - just so long as they do not open the forbidden door.

Guto Puw: ...onyt agoraf y drws...

Schubert: Gesang der Geister uber den Wassern.

BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Jac van Steen in music by Guto Puw and Schubert.