Merton's Dan Grimley on Sibelius, Nielsen and the Nordic Breakthrough

Merton's Professor of Music Daniel Grimley is speaking at the BBC Proms again this year, as the festival marks the 150th anniversary of the births of the composers Jean Sibelius and Carl Nielsen. On Tuesday 25 August he discussed the compositional styles in Nielsen's concertos with Mikkel Zangenberg and Emily Beynon, prior to a performance of the composer's flute concerto.

And on Saturday 29 August Dan will be exploring Sibelius's choral symphony 'Kullervo' and its influences with journalist Andrew Mellor, before the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo perform the piece - you can listen live from 7:50pm.

Dan is also running a conference here in Oxford, entitled Music and the Nordic Breakthrough: Nielsen, Sibelius, Glazunov 2015, which offers a unique opportunity to celebrate the life, work, and cultural environment of three of the most significant creative musical figures from the greater Baltic/Nordic region around the turn of the 20th century. The conference runs from Monday 31 August to Wednesday 2 September, and the delegate day rate is £20 or £10 for students.

As part of the conference, we are hosting a song recital given by Professor Gustav Djupsjöbacka, Rector of the Sibelius Academy in Finland, and the award-winning Finnish soprano Hedvig Paulig. Their programme will include songs by Sibelius and Rachmaninov, and rarely heard works by their Finnish contemporaries Madetoja, Kuula, and Melartin. The concert takes place in the TS Eliot Theatre on Monday 31 August at 6:30pm, and will last around 50 minutes. Tickets cost £10, with a £5 concession rate, and will be available on the door.