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Per Nørgård’s Eighth Symphony is the unusual opener in a programme of magnificent Beethoven and Sibelius from the BBC Philharmonic, Paul Lewis and John Storgårds at the Bridgewater Hall. 

The BBC Scottish Symphony and Thomas Dausgaard unite Wagner, Strauss and a 43-year-old symphony from a modern Danish master.

Per Nørgård's music sounds like sonified math, an algebraic equation unfurling across time and mingling with Reichian phase shifting and drum patterns. 

This was a concert made in heaven. To hear Per Nørgård's Iris, one of a triptych of symphonic poems composed in the late 1960s, eerie and mysterious, and underlain by the influences of Sibelius and Nørgård's teacher and fellow-symphonist, Vagn Holmboe, would make a rich and rewarding enough occasion in itself.

The Manchester-based BBC Philharmonic made their last appearance of this year’s Proms on Thursday night led by their newly appointed Principal Guest Conductor, John Storgårds.