Bliss: The Composer Conducts

Featuring

Arthur Bliss
John Ogdon
Donald Douglas
Cyril Smith
Phyllis Sellick
London Symphony Orchestra

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Alexandra Choir
Croydon Philharmonic Society Chorus
BBC Choral Society
BBC Philharmonic
Miscellaneous

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Composer Biography

Sir Arthur Bliss dedicated his Piano Concerto to the people of the United States of America, as both his father and his wife, Trudy, were American.

Composer Biography

Sir Arthur Bliss, like Malcolm Arnold and Ralph Vaughan Williams, was an excellent conductor of his own music.

Composition History

Sir Arthur Bliss's Concerto for 2 Pianos had a 'chameleon-like career,' starting in 1920 as a concerto for piano, tenor voice, strings, and percussion, then undergoing several revisions.

Compositional Technique

Morning Heroes, described as a 'symphony for orator, chorus and orchestra,' uses an orator in its first and last movements to achieve greater dramatic intensity.

Composition History

Sir Arthur Bliss was inspired to write his Piano Concerto after serving as a jury member for the Ysaÿe International Competition for Pianists in 1938.

Recording & Production

This 2-CD set marks the 50th anniversary of Sir Arthur Bliss's death and includes archive performances of him conducting his own works, many not previously available commercially.

Composition History

Sir Arthur Bliss composed Morning Heroes largely to exorcise nightmares and the loss of his brother, Kennard, who was killed in battle during World War I.