‘Premiered by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult at the 1935 Salzburg Festival, Sir Arthur Bliss’s Music for Strings is a mightily impressive achievement. As befits the work’s distinguished first performers, the string writing is superbly judged and extremely demanding from a technical point of view. Bliss developed his memorable ideas with consummate fluency. The exhilarating zest and sweep of the outer movements are counterpoised by the radiant central Andante molto sostenuto which glows with gentle, unaffected passion. This is Bliss at his formidable best.’
Gramophone, September 1995
2 Ratings
