by Ben Hogwood. Picture of Bloch used courtesy of Wikipedia, unknown author

On this day in 1959, the Swiss-born American composer Ernest Bloch died at the age of 79.

Bloch was a fine composer who has seemingly yet to get the coverage his work deserves. The first piece of his I heard stuck with me, the Concerto Grosso no.1 for strings and piano. It is a powerful piece whose Transatlantic language – hinting at folk influences from either side of the world – is also a pointer towards screen soundtracks that would come along decades later.

Here it is in a fine performance from the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra under Howard Hanson:

Published post no.2,948 – Wednesday 15 July 2026