Arthur BLISS (1891-1975)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1939)
Trevor Barnard (piano)
Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir Malcolm Sargent
THE DIVINE ART 2-4016
[37:56]
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Bliss's Piano Concerto was first performed during the 1939 World Fair in
New York by Solomon and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Sir Adrian
Boult. (Vaughan Williams' Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus and Bax's
Seventh Symphony were first performed during the same concert.). Bliss's
Piano Concerto is in the big romantic mould, as is his somewhat later Violin
Concerto. The music is shot through with highly typical "Blissian" gestures,
and the outer movements abound with big swaggering themes whereas the central
movement is somewhat calmer. The music has a remarkable energy and dashes
about with vitality. But, try as he may, Bliss never succeeded in convincing
the present listener with either his Piano Concerto or his later Violin Concerto,
both of which I found generally too long and too diffuse to be wholly satisfying.
(His much later Cello Concerto is by far the finest of his works in the genre.)
However there is much to enjoy in this grand-scale piece and Trevor Barnard
is a splendidly equipped pianist who met all of Bliss's demands, both technical
and musical. He seizes the work with a remarkable assurance and succeeds
in making it much finer than I think it really is. No small merit here. Barnard
is well supported by the Philharmonia and by Sargent who may be responsible
for some slight problems of balance. Nevertheless this is a really fine
performance of an ambitious work that may sometimes outstay its welcome.
This recording was issued in 1962 by HMV and reissued in 1977 as part of
a boxed set of British piano concertos. The present transfer is generally
well managed and the sound quite acceptable. Incidentally this is the only
available recording of the concerto, so you need not hesitate if you really
want to have it, the more so as this performance is a nice tribute to Barnard's
impeccable playing and musicianship.
Hubert Culot
See also review by Colin Clarke
Visit the Sir Arthur Bliss
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