Bliss, Sir Arthur (1891-1975), was a British composer. Bliss established an international reputation with A Colour Symphony in 1922. His ballet Checkmate (1937) is frequently performed. His best work is probably his chamber music, which is among the finest written in the 1900’s. Bliss’s chamber music includes an oboe quintet (1927) and a clarinet quintet (1932). In 1935, he wrote the music for the science-fiction motion picture Things to Come.
Arthur Drummond Bliss was born on Aug. 2, 1891, in London and studied at Cambridge University. He was knighted in 1950. In 1953, he was appointed master of the queen’s music, an honorary post given to a distinguished musician, usually a composer. Bliss died on March 27, 1975.
