On 27 March 1975, Sir Arthur Bliss died aged 83. Getting on for half-a-century later, the question facing the combined brains of the Bliss Trust (founded in 1986 by the composer’s widow, Lady Trudy Bliss) and the committee members of its supporting organisation, the Arthur Bliss Society, was how to mark this significant anniversary. Bearing in mind the number 50, the Trust and Society, launched a project with the tag-line ‘50 for 50’ in the hope that over the concert seasons 2024-5 and 2025-6, 50 performances might be achieved of perhaps between 20 to 30 works.
We set about contacting festivals, orchestras, choirs, ensembles, concert promoting societies, the BBC, and individual artists encouraging them to programme or perform Bliss’s music. With five months remaining (the project concludes at the end of August) not only has the original target been met, but also well exceeded, the number of performances currently standing at 252 with 68 different works represented. This result is beyond our wildest dreams and in this resumé of the project, inevitably there’s only space to mention a few highlights. It’s been my privilege to attend many of the performances described below.
The first proposal that emerged from our collective brainstorming chimed with an ambition of Bliss himself, but never fulfilled, to orchestrate his Viola Sonata. We sounded out Philip Wilby, a long-time admirer of Bliss’s music, who accepted the task with relish. Christopher Glynn, the enterprising Artistic Director of the Ryedale Festival, agreed to the premiere being given under the festival’s auspices and two of Britain’s formidable young talents, the violist Timothy Ridout and conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh, were engaged along with the Orchestra of Opera North. On 19 July last year, a packed Ripon Cathedral cheered the new Bliss Viola Concerto on its way (see picture above of Timothy Ridout giving the first performance of Bliss’s Viola Concerto, orchestrated by Philip Wilby. Tom Fetherstonhaugh conductor, Orchestra of Opera North. Ripon Cathedral).
Mark Bebbington, a staunch advocate of Bliss’s piano works, proposed the idea of a day of Bliss performances at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on the actual date of his death. It included dynamic performances of the Viola Sonata by David Aspin and Robert Markham, and by Chu-Yu Yang with Charles Matthews, of the Violin Concerto. During the anniversary Mark took Bliss’s music across the country in his recitals.
The last joint initiative between the Trust and Society, was led by David Salter, Chairman of the latter, who, like Bliss, was an alumnus of Pembroke College, Cambridge. He masterminded a stimulating two-day Bliss celebration there in September last year with performances by Pixels Ensemble, soprano April Fredrick and Eric McElroy, talks, and an anniversary dinner held in a room Bliss would have known well.
Professional newcomers to Bliss who’ve become advocates include Guy Johnson, whose impassioned performances of the Cello Concerto in Nottingham and Liverpool with the Royal Liverpool PO, led to him recording the work with them for ONYX. Having discovering Bliss through these concerts and the recording, Andrew Manze is also a convert. Roderick Williams with Andrew West took Bliss’s song, ‘Siege’ from the Seven American Poems, to venues like Wigmore Hall and festivals including Leamington and Barnes.
From a personal perspective, I’ve been particularly moved by the many Bliss performances by non-professional musicians, such as the Pastoral by the impressive Nottingham Chamber Singers and Classical Players, conducted by Angela Kay; A Colour Symphony played with gusto by the Crowthorne SO, conducted by Robert Roscoe, in Wokingham; a visceral rendering of the concert suite from Checkmate by the Cardiff PO, conducted by Michael Bell in Llandaff Cathedral; the 100 strong Harrogate SO under its ebullient conductor Bryan Western, who’d engaged the outstanding young Australian/Chinese cellist Lily Dai, to play the Cello Concerto; and the Northampton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Gibbons, invited Peter Donohoe to play the Piano Concerto with them.
Donohoe also played the concerto with the Royal PO at Cadogan Hall and other London highlights included the London Chorus and New London Orchestra, together with BBC
Pictured left: The Pixels Ensemble who performed an all Bliss programme as part of the Bliss Anniversary Celebration at Pembroke College Cambridge. Pictured right: The BBC Proms performance of The Beatitudes. Sakari Oramo, conductor, Elizabeth Watts, Laurence Kilsby, BBC Singers, BBC Chorus, BBC SO. 7 Sept 2025
Radio 3’s Petroc Trelawney, performing an emotional Morning Heroes conducted by Adrian Brown; The Beatitudes at the Proms, wonderfully shaped by Sakari Oramo, with soloists to die for, Elizabeth Watts and Lawrence Kilsby, the BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra; and a virtuosic performance of Music for Strings by John Wilson and his Sinfonia of London, who’d already taken it to Gateshead, Perth and Carlisle.
Apart from Ryedale, festivals have done Bliss proud, including Leamington (Emma Johnson and the Carducci Qt playing the Clarinet Quintet and the Piano Quartet with Simon Callaghan and the Sacconi Quartet). At the Hereford Three Choirs, Dame Sarah Connolly was the radiant soloist in Mary of Magdala, and the National Youth String Orchestra dazzled the audience with their mature, devil-may-care performance of Music for Strings. Paul Spicer, author of the critically acclaimed biography, Sir Arthur Bliss: Standing out from the Crowd, also gave a talk there. Lastly, Raphael Wallfisch performed the Cello Concerto at Snape in the Britten/Pears autumn weekend dedicated to Britten and also at the English Music Festival; it remains as fresh an interpretation as when he recorded it in 1989.
Pictured left: John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London taking a bow after their performance of Music for Strings, Barbican 22 Oct 25. Pictured right: The soloists at the end of the BBC Proms performance of The Beatitudes with Sakari Oramo in the background
Mention must be made too of arrangements of Bliss’s music for brass band being performed as test pieces in last year’s National Brass Band championships and the Black Dyke and Flowers Bands have performed his classic work for the medium, Kenilworth regularly.
Finally, following the first complete performance of Bliss’s last orchestral work, the Metamorphic Variations, in Nottingham, performed by the BBC PO, conducted by Michael Seal, the orchestra recorded it and the complete ballet Miracle in the Gorbals for Chandos.
Still to come…
May sees a flurry of performances with two major ones abroad, Checkmate staged by the Sarasota Ballet and A Colour Symphony by the Dresden Philharmonie, conducted by Andrew Manze. And in Lewes, Bliss’s granddaughter, Caroline Secombe, is joined by her sons Matthew and Charles for a lunchtime recital. There’s also the publication by Unicorn Publishing of a major new book, Bliss and Dance: Revelations on Stage. Edited by former Royal Ballet dancer, Jennifer Jackson, this richly illustrated book explores Bliss’s four ballets from both dance and music perspectives. www.unicornpublishing.org
In June, Evensong sung by Pembroke College Chapel Choir features Bliss anthems, and during the week commencing 1 June Bliss is ‘Composer of the Week’ on BBC Radio 3. Bliss is again featured at the Three Choirs Festival with performances of songs by Roderick Williams and Ian Burnside and the anthem, Sing, Mortals! by the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and the Bliss anniversary is rounded off with his String Quartet No 2, performed by the Agogo Quartet at the Lake District Summer Music Festival in Kendal. Full details of all performances are to be found on the Bliss Society’s website.
Written by Andrew Burn, Chairman, The Bliss Trust
The Arthur Bliss Society
The Arthur Bliss Society was founded in 2003 to complement the work of The Bliss Trust by bringing together enthusiasts and admirers of Bliss’s music. Twice a year members receive a substantial Journal and the Society’s AGM has regularly been combined with talks and performances. The Society also keeps a comprehensive list of future performance. Details of membership, how to join and contact the Society can be found on its website: www.arthurbliss.org
Sir Arthur Bliss
Sir Arthur Bliss was one of the most important British musicians of his age. Born into a family where music played a highly significant role, his talent emerged early. He served with distinction in the Great War, in which he was both injured and gassed. After the War he set the musical world alight with ultra-modern works, earning himself the soubriquet enfant terrible and leading to his first major work, A Colour Symphony. His dual American/British birthright led to a close connection with the USA and marriage to an American girl, Trudy Hoffman, the mainstay of his life. Before long he became the most performed British composer abroad and his portfolio of works included ballet, film (H.G.Wells’ Things to Come remains one of the finest film scores), opera, orchestral, chamber, choral works and song. He served as Director of Music at the BBC from 1942-4, was knighted and soon after appointed Master of the Queen’s Music.
Written by Paul Spicer