The obscure connection between the works on this disc comes from Herbert Fryer, who studied with Busoni, and was in turn the teacher of both Bliss and Trevor Barnard. Barnard has long been an ardent champion of these works, and this recording fulfils a treasured ambition. Busoni’s 24 Preludes, which follow the same key sequence as Chopin’s, are juvenile works completed by the time he was 14; the range of influence and pastiche is explicit and predictable, from Bach, Brahms, Chopin and Tchaikovsky, although much of the writing is impressively assured. Most interesting are the glimpses of the kind of textures that Busoni later employed in his Bach transcriptions. But this set is of only passing interest, and the lasting impression is that the young Busoni had some inventive ideas but lacked the experience and maturity to develop them fully.
Bliss’s Sonata (1952) is an austere work, although this impression is helped neither by Barnard’s monochromatic playing nor by the tight and airless recording. Overall, despite Barnard’s affection and commitment to both these works, his playing is too literal, lacking imagination and dramatic impulse. At times he is stretched by the virtuoso demands of the Bliss Sonata – in places his performance lacks fluency and rhythmic drive – and his sound is brittle with little variety of colour. A couple of ugly edits in the Bliss are further distractions, and overall, despite Barnard’s obvious commitment to these works, this disc has a limited appeal.'