Arnold, Sir Malcolm (1921-2006)

[Belgrove]

I'm keen to explore more of Arnold's work, especially the symphonies. The Hickox/Gamba LSO/BBC Phil Complete Symphonies set on Chandos looks a tempting first stop, but are there any particular recordings of an individual symphony that you would recommend?
The Guitar Concerto is utterly charming and I'm also acquainted with the Philharmonic Concerto, but know nothing of the other concertos nor his chamber works - where might be a good place to start an exploration of these? The three Hyperion/Helios discs with the Nash et al looks attractive.
Any suggestions/ enthusiasms would be gratefully received.

[Pulcinella]

The Naxos symphony set is pretty impressive.
I bought them as invidual CDs to supplement existing versions (Arnold himself in 4 on Lyrita, amazingly slow; Arnold in 1 and 5, and Groves in 2).
The Nash Chamber music CDs are indeed splendid (I have teamsaint to thank for introducing me to them), and there are concertos other than the guitar one to explore (especially the one for two pianos, three hands).
And don't forget the Dances (again Naxos ideal, as the Welsh ones are included) and the Sinfoniettas.

That'll do for starters.

[Bryn]

Or there's this fine Conifer set from Tod Handley et al, re-issued in a Sony box which has held its price rather better then some might hope:

[Pulcinella]

Or there's this fine Conifer set from Tod Handley et al, re-issued in a Sony box which has held its price rather better then some might hope:

That looks tempting.
There was a Decca Collector's set too, but I think that that is (was) more expensive, and now is download only.

[Richard Tarleton]

I'm ashamed to say I know very little of his music apart from what gets played regularly on R3 - but I too love the guitar concerto. I actually saw Bream play it, with Arnold conducting the ECO, in the QEH in 1972 or 3. A charming and utterly beguiling work. So thank you for the above suggestions. Any pointers as to chamber music, where I'm more likely to start?

[Pulcinella]

I'm ashamed to say I know very little of his music apart from what gets played regularly on R3 - but I too love the guitar concerto. I actually saw Bream play it, with Arnold conducting the ECO, in the QEH in 1972 or 3. A charming and utterly beguiling work. So thank you for the above suggestions. Any pointers as to chamber music, where I'm more likely to start?

These, already mentioned:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/search?search_query=Malcolm+Arnold+nash

[cloughie]

Or there's this fine Conifer set from Tod Handley et al, re-issued in a Sony box which has held its price rather better then some might hope:

A lot of the Sony boxes have - could be that there was just one ‘run’ and not vast surplusses of them around.

[Bryn]

That looks tempting.
There was a Decca Collector's set too, but I think that that is (was) more expensive, and now is download only.

I think the content of the Decca and Sony Conifer collections offer heavy duplication, due to the Conifer catalogue changing hands. I got the Decca boxes a decade or so ago.

[Pulcinella]

I think the content of the Decca and Sony Conifer collections offer heavy duplication, due to the Conifer catalogue changing hands. I got the Decca boxes a decade or so ago.

Ah....That explains why Handley features so much in both!

[kea]

The only item found in the Sony box that's not in the Decca box is the Fantasy for Oboe. The Decca box meanwhile has a pretty good number of non-Conifer recordings although I'm not sure any of them represent essential repertoire.

(edit: ok there's no Symphony for Strings in the Sony box but one could supplement with the Naxos recording.)

Short essentials list: Symphony 7, Symphony for Strings, Concerto for 28 Players, the two string quartets, Fantasy on a Theme of John Field. Recordings—there doesn't seem to be a vast difference between them, and for most works there's only one available; I tend to favour the 7th Symphony with Martin Yates (on Dutton) rather than the Handley

[Richard Tarleton]

These, already mentioned:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classica...lm+Arnold+nash

Ah, thanks

[ardcarp]

One wouldn't want to remember Arnold for his amusing trivia, but they were very good amusing trivia, e.g. for the Hoffnung concerts and...the one that always gets me...The Padstow Lifeboat March

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qzYhRQbjPE

But I'd add that one piece which definitely isn't amusing trivia is the Fantasia for Solo Tuba. It's extremely well wrought (and as you'd expect) well-written, making it an invaluable part of any tuba-player's repertoire. It crops up quite frequently on exam and/or competition syllabuses.

[teamsaint]

I suppose I am a fan, rather than an expert, but to add to Kea’s list of absolute essentials I would certainly add the two string quaretets, which I think show him at the height of his powers.
There is no good excuse ( other than not liking them) not to have a set of the symphonies , and there are plenty of discs with good selections of the Concertos, and of course the Nash Ensemble Chamber discs, that I made Pulcers splash out on a while back.
For me, his music is always of interest, and usually speaks to me very directly, in a way that I enjoy.

Arnold deserves a much higher profile than he currently has. The neglect of his symphonies in the concert hall is a dismal state of affairs, that I am sure will be rectified eventually.

[Edgy 2]

Can’t add much to the recommendations already posted.
I get a sense of MA telling me ‘this is how it is’ in his music rather than words,if that makes sense
I can relate to all that despair and anxiety in the last 3 symphonies and yes ts those 2 Quartets are amazing.
Surely the 9th Symphony is up there with all the great big 9ths ?

[Petrushka]

Surely the 9th Symphony is up there with all the great big 9ths ?

Do so agree with this. It is a masterpiece of the first order and I cannot understand its neglect in the concert hall. I have the Handley and Penny recordings, both fine but I have a preference for the former.