Arnold, Sir Malcolm (1921-2006)

[Barbirollians]

Whilst he may have been under the care of the Court of Protection in its then form it seems more likely it is an issue with the MOJ .

I suppose the issue is more likely to be the personal information of still living third parties than that of Malcolm Arnold himself.

[Andrew Slater]

I'm coming to the conclusion that the only Arnold I like is the Dances, but I'll persevere!

I would certainly recommend listening to the earlier symphonies a few times, particularly Nos. 2 and 5, before tackling No. 9. In 2011, which would have been Arnold's 90th anniversary, at the festival in Northampton, all nine numbered symphonies were played over a weekend. One prominent old friend of Arnold refused to stay to hear No. 9, which he said was unfair to Arnold's memory, and shouldn't be played. Arnold had gone through a deep trauma and was clearly very ill at the time of writing. It uses very spare textures, mostly two-part harmony, in contrast to his earlier works, which are brimming with tunes and counterpoint. Although I wouldn't go as far as the old friend went, I think a good understanding of Arnold's idiom and the context of his later years are needed to appreciate it as a sincere work. In fact, it could probably be claimed to give some insight into the pain he had suffered. It was conducted at the 2011 festival by John Gibbons, who used slightly faster tempi than are marked in the score, which do help. He later made a recording on the Toccata label, which I would recommend. As a coupling, for light relief, the CD includes the Grand Concerto Gastronomique, for Eater, Waiter, Food and Large Orchestra, another Hoffnung Festival composition. (It would work better on a DVD, I think!)

[Roslynmuse]

Ah, thank you for that correction, it was indeed that Prom that I remember. No wonder I couldn't find a recording of it under Arnold !!😆

I'm coming to the conclusion that the only Arnold I like is the Dances, but I'll persevere!

I don't think I have ever heard any of the symphonies but I enjoyed Tam O'Shanter and Beckus the Dandipratt as slightly more substantial pieces than the dances. If I'm honest, I find something slightly chilling about even some of these occasional pieces - the way they seem to freeze-frame and tread water, and the slightly sickly combination of melody and harmony that he sometimes uses. (Peterloo Overture too.) I've accompanied the clarinet and oboe sonatinas many times and find them ultimately quite depressing pieces. I think it must have been Tony Palmer's documentary that was on tv in the 90s - if it was, I agree with Roger's assessment of it as disturbing. There was an image towards the end of it with the camera trained on Arnold's face and it gradually became hideously distorted. Sorry, this is a very subjective view of a composer that many obviously find much more engaging; it's interesting to speculate on why we react so strongly (in my case negatively) to this music.

[crb11]

And the work was 'A Grand, Grand, Overture'.....I think David Attenborough 'played' the floor polisher in a subsequent perfprmance. Edit. And we forgot the four rifles!

Yes, at the Last Night of the 2009 Proms, with co-soloists including Steven Hough and Rory Bremner.

[MickyD]

Thanks to all for your thoughts and advice. Now that I have the set, I will play it from time to time. For me, he is a tough nut to crack.

[LMcD]

According to Petroc, Arnold suggested that the conclusion of the last dance of Op. 91 might be titled 'Bruckner's Day Trip To Cornwall'.

[Roger Webb]

Thanks to all for your thoughts and advice. Now that I have the set, I will play it from time to time. For me, he is a tough nut to crack.

I was about to suggest the concertos as slightly easier 'way in' to Arnold's world Micky. Arnold wrote more concertos than any other 20th cent. composer...more even than Gordon Jacob, who seems to have written for most solo instruments!

I remember the flute concertos coming out on EMI, and of course the Guitar Concerto, oh, and the Harmonica Concerto, both of which had recordings. But it wasn't until Conifer started their brilliant series in the 80s that some of the lesser known ones came to our attention. These were later licenced to Decca and came out in the Malcolm Arnold Edition (476 5343), which contains 17 of them.

These were mainly written for friends with whom Arnold had performed when an orchestral trumpeter, and these recordings are brilliantly played and recorded.

Volume 1 of the Edition was Symphonies (Vernon Handley 476 5337), and Volume 3 other orchestral works, brass and piano.

Something else that might appeal is Arnold's body of Chamber Music recorded by Hyperion on three discs, Vol 1(CDH55 071) string sonatas...Vol 2 (CDH55072) wind sonatinas....Vol 3 (55073) more wind, incl. the wonderful 3 Shanties for Wind Qnt.

The Maggini Qt have recorded the two string qts and the Phantasy on Naxos 8.557762. These are tough, intense works...I think of Bartok sometimes listening to these. The Phantasy was written for the Cobbett Prize, and came 2nd.........to Ruth Gipps.