Noting the Landscape was composed in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. During the periods of lockdown Stephen Pratt had found it impossible to compose and he turned instead to painting. But a subsequent commission from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society to write a piece to mark his 75th birthday provided just the incentive he needed to return to composition. As the work developed, Stephen recognized that the music that was emerging was more ‘the expression of feeling than painting’: Beethoven used similar words to describe his ‘Pastoral’ Symphony, showing that he had been there long before!

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 Music example (pdf)