Malcolm Arnold

Martin Cooper writes 'The concerto has a dashing first movement marked by jazz memories and a lento whose wistful melancholy also suggests the sentimental lyrical style of the 1930s. The leap from this to the crude whooping and the stomping rhythms of the finale was irresistible. . .'Daily Telegraph 12 October 1976

The full score for Symphony No.8 Op.121 a contemporary masterpiece by Malcolm Arnold composed in 1979. It is a substantial work with clever and fascinating orchestration.

Guitar Concerto Opus 67 was commissioned by Julian Bream who gave the first performance in Aldeburgh with the Melos Ensemble. It is an overt tribute to Jazz and especially to Django Reinhardt. This is particularly evident in the long slow movement which someone once described as a script for a Hitchcock thriller.The most remarkable feature of Arnold?s Guitar Concerto is that the composer cleverly eschewed all clichés in his guitar writing be they Spanish or Jazz and that he approached his task in his own inimitable way. The scoring for small forces is a miracle of economy clarity and efficiency. Malcolm Arnold at his best and at his most inventive thiswonderfully crafted piece has become a favourite.

. . .a 17-minute three-movement work in which orchestra suits and colours are dealt with concision wit fluency and light-fingered skill. . .Gillian Widdicombe Financial Times November 1976

Little Suite for Orchestra No. 1: Op 53-Malcolm Arnold is one Britain’s best-loved composers. In 1948 he composed a very short suite for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain - entitled simply To Youth. Seven years later he took To Youth and made some fairly major revisions including a complete new movement and the Little Suite for Orchestra was born. The Little Suite for Orchestra follows a very similar pattern to the later suites for brass band starting with a bold strident Prelude which strangely ends quietly before a lovely lilting Dance composed in 3/8 time. Finally a rollicking and militaristic March brings the suite to a conclusion. This arrangement for brass band by Robin Norman is sure tobecome a classic in the brass band repertoire.

'. . .has a genuine music-hall flavour with lots of gusto a winning waltz theme an Offenbachian can-can and even twittering bird effects in the tuneful pot-pourri towards the end of the suite.'Ivan March Gramophone February 1994

Ivan March of Gramophone says '. . .a bleak unease in the unrelenting energy of the first movement which becomes even more discomforting in the desolate start to the Lento. This leads to a forlorn suggestion of a funeral march which then ironically quickens in pace but is suddenly cut down; the drum strokes become menacingly powerful and the despairing mood of the movement's opening returns. . . and grips the listener in the music's pessimism. . .'This is a Study Score of Arnold’s Symphony No.6 Op.95.

Written in 1966 Arnold drew on a more personal inspiration for these dances rather than folk music. Transcribed by Ray Farr the music depicts the fishermen farm workers and tin miners native to Cornwall going about their lives - it also includes a brief visit to the local Methodist chapel for a Sunday morning sevice!

Arnold's first chamber symphony in three movements written in 1954 published in study score format for the first time.

The chilling slow movement seems to me to be one of the great symphonic essays written by an Englishman.Michael Kennedy Daily Telegraph 1 June 1991

A Flourish For Orchestra was written to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the granting of a Charter to the City of Bristol. It was first performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in the Colston Hall Bristol on 26th September 1973.

Malcolm Arnold's one act ballet score Homage To The Queen was commissioned in 1953 by the Royal Opera House Covent Garden to celebrate the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The ballet was conceived and choreographed by Frederick Ashton with designs by Oliver Messel and was danced by the full company of the Sadler's Wells Ballet with an illustrious cast that comprised Nadia Nerina as Queen of the Earth Violetta Elvin as Queen of the Waters Beryl Grey as Queen of Fire and Margot Fonteyn as Queen of the Air. The conductor of the ROH orchestra was Robert Irving. Homage to the Queen was first performed on the night of the coronation 2June1953.One of the towering musical figures of the 20th century Sir Malcolm Arnold has a remarkable catalogue of major concert works to his credit including nine symphonies seven ballets two operas one musical over twenty concertos two string quartets and music for brass band and wind band. He has also written over 132 film scores and among these are some of the finest works ever composed for the medium: Bridge On The River Kwai Inn Of The Sixth Happiness Hobson's Choice Whistle Down The Wind and David Copperfield.