Peter Grimes' Apprentice, 1977

Sidney Nolan,1977, Oil paint and polyvinyl acetate paint on hardboard, frame: 1007 × 1308 × 33 mm,Tate

George Vass is an experienced British conductor and festival director, currently the Artistic Director for Presteigne Music Festival.

"For me, 'Peter Grimes' Apprentice' really encapsulates the sense of hopelessness of Grimes’ second apprentice who, in Britten’s opera, dies after falling off a cliff into the sea. It was painted for the 30th Aldeburgh Festival and is one of the results of a long and fruitful relationship Nolan had with composer Benjamin Britten. Being a musician myself, I always hear Britten’s music when viewing this painting."

Sidney Nolan was founding President of the Presteigne Festival – George and Sidney met a number of times at The Rodd (George having been associated with the Festival since 1989), and since his appointment as artistic director in 1992, George has continued to forge an important link between the Sidney Nolan Trust and the Presteigne Festival, with annual exhibitions and other Nolan-based events.


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