A short but highly dense challenging and inventive Fantasy by one of Britain's most celebrated 20th century composers Sir Malcolm Arnold.

Arnold's Sonatina was written in January 1951 and was first performed at the Gallery of the Royal Society of British Artists in London by Colin Davis. The piece is in three highly varied movements with a brisk opening softer and slower second movement and a Furioso third. A challenging virtuoso piece!

This important work was originally written as part of Arnold's film score for the 1953 film You Know What Sailors Are. It was first performed on the occasion of the composer's 80th birthday October 2001 and published for the first time in this edition. ...will surely find its way into the repertoire of most players...exhibits the typical Arnold good humour is great fun to play and to listen to. CASS magazine. Grade 8

Malcolm Arnold wrote this little fantasy in the early 1960s as a present for his children Katherine and Robert to play together. Even as a miniature it has many of the hallmarks of the Arnold style such as the evocative melodic writing together with the occasional dark dissonance. It was written at a time when Arnold was deeply into film music. Perhaps this is why in the famous film Whistle Down the Wind the main theme is for flute/piccolo and turns out to be not entirely dissimilar to the theme found in this fantasy.

An important and significant work written in London in 1942 and now published for the first time: 60 years later! The first movement is tuneful and full of those surprises Malcolm loves to introduce in his music. There are no shortage of jazz inspired ideas coloured always by that Arnold 'edge'. The second movement is a fiendish scherzo - full of amazing cross rhythms and of immense energy. The final movement is a March and the most emotionally charged. Clearly very strongly anti-war - severe and angry dissonances mocking fanfares angular and brutal melodic and rhythmic shapes. 'A very playable work...with plenty of interest for all the players. A greataddition to the repertoire!' AWTGrade: 8