Concerto For Solo Piano And Nine Players Plus Piano Pieces By Bliss, E Goossens, Lambert, Walton

Released by Polydor in 1976, this recording serves as a significant archival survey of British music from the interwar period, specifically focusing on the works of the 'Les Six' inspired British avant-garde. The collection brings together pieces by Arthur Bliss, Eugene Goossens, Constant Lambert, and William Walton, reflecting the cosmopolitan and often acerbic style that defined early 20th-century English modernism. By capturing these specific chamber arrangements, the label aimed to preserve the experimental spirit of composers who were pivotal in moving British classical music away from late-Romantic pastoralism.

The album is anchored by Richard Rodney Bennett’s performance of the Concerto for Solo Piano and Nine Players, a work that underscores his role as a prominent champion of this specific twentieth-century repertoire. Bennett, an accomplished composer and performer, approached the project with a focus on structural clarity and the rhythmic vigor central to the works of his predecessors. Upon its release, the record was recognized by critics as a vital document for those exploring the intersection of jazz-influenced syncopation and the neoclassical rigor characteristic of composers like Lambert and Walton.