Arthur Bliss - The Composer conducts

Information

Composer: Arthur Bliss

CD1

• A Colour Symphony, Op. 24, F. 106
• Piano Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 58, F. 108
• Sir Arthur Bliss Speaks After a Birthday Presentation
• March, F. 94 "The Phoenix"

CD2

• Morning Heroes, F. 32
• Concerto for 2 Pianos & Orchestra, F. 110 (arr. Clifford Phillips)
• Mêlée fantasque, F. 119

London Symphony Orchestra

BBC Symphony Orchestra

BBC Northern Orchestra

John Ogdon, piano

Cyril Smith & Phyllis Sellick, piano 3-hands

Arthur Bliss, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: SOMM Recordings

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To mark the 50th anniversary of Sir Arthur Bliss’s death, SOMM Recordings releases a 2-CD set of rare, live performances showcasing the composer conducting his own music—most never commercially recorded before. These skillfully remastered archival recordings, largely captured at the BBC Proms, include significant works like A Colour Symphony (1961), performed at Bliss’s 70th birthday concert. Inspired by heraldry, the symphony’s four movements—Purple, Red, Blue, and Green—reflect symbolic meanings of primary colours.

Also featured is Piano Concerto from Bliss’s 75th birthday Proms in 1966, with an acclaimed performance by John Ogdon and Bliss’s heartfelt speech of gratitude. The oratorio Morning Heroes (1968), composed in memory of his brother and other World War I soldiers, is presented in its only Proms performance with orator Donald Douglas.

Bliss’s Concerto for Two Pianos appears in a touching three-hand arrangement made after pianist Cyril Smith lost the use of his left arm. The recording, from the 1969 Proms, features Smith, Phyllis Sellick, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Two additional works, the vibrant Mêlée Fantasque (1921) and the wartime tribute The Phoenix (1944), round out this commemorative release—offering a unique portrait of Bliss as composer, conductor, and post-war cultural figure.