sir Malcolm Arnold

Started by Thom, April 12, 2007, 10:28:13 AM

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Mirror Image

#120
January 31, 2015, 06:31:49 PM
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on January 31, 2015, 11:08:04 AM
Thank god, MI! Cilgwyn had me worried  ???...I thought I'd have to buy another cycle  ;D

Seriously, I'm quite happy with Penny's and the composer's own recordings.

Sarge

Good to hear we agree on this matter, Sarge. I think it's time to give cilgwyn the bazooka. ;) ;D

Mirror Image

#121
January 31, 2015, 08:49:49 PM
How about Arnold's 9th? Wow, that last movement never fails to move me. Under Gamba and Handley, it sounds good, but Penny transforms the music into a 'farewell to life'.

vandermolen

#122
January 31, 2015, 11:20:44 PM
There is a new release of Symphony 7 on Dutton which is very enjoyable although perhaps not as good as Vernon Handley's version.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Christo

#123
February 01, 2015, 03:00:43 AM
Overall, I consider the Handley cycle on Conifer as a standard, even more so than the Penny for Naxos, though I completely agree that Penny's Ninth is something very special indeed and an absolute first choice (and also a moving one, as it feels as a sort of personal farewell by the composer, who was involved in the recording, I think).

The composer's own recordings always provide an extra clue and especially his own Fifth (EMI) remains unsurpassed IMHO (his own performance of the Seventh, found as a radio recording on the Art-Music Forum, is remarkably slow and tensionless as compared to Handley).

That said, I confess I haven't heard the Gamba set yet, so maybe cilgwyn's enthusiasm is very well deserved and it does compete with Handley's Seventh and Eight (my first choice for both).

BTW, I heard the lesser known Eight live in Dordrecht (near Rotterdam), last Summer, with a combined Dutch and German amateur orchestra under conductor Tobias van de Locht (name sounds Dutch, but he's German) who's doing the 'first complete cycle on the Continent', these years. The conductor is clearly a Malcolm Arnold specialist and he managed to make it a commemorable performance, even with these non professional forces.
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

vandermolen

#124
February 01, 2015, 03:31:53 AM
I have always like the First Symphony very much. The composers own version on EMI is extraordinarily slow compared with the other recordings but it is the one I most often return to.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

cilgwyn

#125
February 01, 2015, 07:51:08 AM
Quote from: Christo on February 01, 2015, 03:00:43 AM
Overall, I consider the Handley cycle on Conifer as a standard, even more so than the Penny for Naxos, though I completely agree that Penny's Ninth is something very special indeed and an absolute first choice (and also a moving one, as it feels as a sort of personal farewell by the composer, who was involved in the recording, I think).

The composer's own recordings always provide an extra clue and especially his own Fifth (EMI) remains unsurpassed IMHO (his own performance of the Seventh, found as a radio recording on the Art-Music Forum, is remarkably slow and tensionless as compared to Handley).

That said, I confess I haven't heard the Gamba set yet, so maybe cilgwyn's enthusiasm is very well deserved and it does compete with Handley's Seventh and Eight (my first choice for both). AS to the remainder of the cycle.....maybe I'm just a mug for that lush 'Chandos sound'. I love it! ;D

BTW, I heard the lesser known Eight live in Dordrecht (near Rotterdam), last Summer, with a combined Dutch and German amateur orchestra under conductor Tobias van de Locht (name sounds Dutch, but he's German) who's doing the 'first complete cycle on the Continent', these years. The conductor is clearly a Malcolm Arnold specialist and he managed to make it a commemorable performance, even with these non professional forces.
I think I'm heavily outnumbered in my enthusiasm for the Chandos cycle! Time for a tactical retreat?! ;D Difficult to argue with MI due to Arnold's involvement and apparently theNaxos cycle was his own first choice. Actually,I'm not sure if I really like the Gamba performance of No 7! That said,I would suggest that anyone interested in Arnold's Seventh should try it. He really does take it at a hectic pace! Even if you don't like it I think it's worth having in your collection. I was a bit taken-a-back by it,to be honest! That said,my favourite performance is Handley's on Conifer.

Sergeant Rock

#126
February 01, 2015, 08:00:25 AM
Quote from: cilgwyn on February 01, 2015, 07:51:08 AMActually,I'm not sure if I really like the Gamba performance of No 7! That said,I would suggest that anyone interested in Arnold's Seventh should try it. He really does take it at a hectic pace! Even if you don't like it I think it's worth having in your collection.

I ordered Gamba (7, 8, 9) a few hours ago. I only have Penny in those symphonies; could use alternative interpretations.

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

vandermolen

#127
February 01, 2015, 09:24:54 AM
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on February 01, 2015, 08:00:25 AM
I ordered Gamba (7, 8, 9) a few hours ago. I only have Penny in those symphonies; could use alternative interpretations.

Sarge

You won't be disappointed. I like that set and it is good to hear alternative versions.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

#128
February 02, 2015, 01:19:44 PM
I listened to Gamba's Arnold 7th this evening as cilgwyn was making such a song and dance about it  :)
It is rather a manic performance but I did rather enjoy it and I think that the symphony lends itself to different interpretations. Yes, you must listen to 'Noah'  8)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

cilgwyn

#129
February 04, 2015, 02:17:39 AM
Point taken! ;D

Christo

#130
February 04, 2015, 05:30:04 AM
Okay, will listen to it in Spotify. Saves some smuggling.  ;)
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

vandermolen

#131
February 04, 2015, 11:31:00 AM
Quote from: Christo on February 04, 2015, 05:30:04 AM
Okay, will listen to it in Spotify. Saves some smuggling.  ;)

Excellent point - must do more of this.  8)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

#132
February 04, 2015, 11:31:57 AM
Quote from: cilgwyn on February 04, 2015, 02:17:39 AM
Point taken! ;D

Was only joking and enjoy our exchanges. Will listen again to the new Arnold 7 on Dutton and report back.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

tjguitar

#133
October 27, 2015, 05:22:16 PM
Has anyone picked this up? For these works, I only have the Decca box of the Handley Conifer recordings...



psu

#134
October 30, 2015, 02:56:34 AM
I've listened to that on Apple Music, and it's probably on Spotify too.

I am not that familiar with the piece, but it didn't seem to me to be that different from the other available recordings.

Maestro267

#135
April 21, 2016, 12:41:01 PM
It's taking a while, but I'm finally starting to appreciate the Ninth Symphony. Vastly different from the other symphonies, but still a great work in its own way. It's a Final Symphony in the tradition of Tchaikovsky 6 and Mahler 9.

Mirror Image

#136
April 21, 2016, 03:00:04 PM
Quote from: Maestro267 on April 21, 2016, 12:41:01 PM
It's taking a while, but I'm finally starting to appreciate the Ninth Symphony. Vastly different from the other symphonies, but still a great work in its own way. It's a Final Symphony in the tradition of Tchaikovsky 6 and Mahler 9.

Yes! The last movement of Arnold's 9th is a farewell to all and his resignation from this thing we call life.

lescamil

#137
April 21, 2016, 10:01:14 PM
Quote from: Mirror Image on April 21, 2016, 03:00:04 PM
Yes! The last movement of Arnold's 9th is a farewell to all and his resignation from this thing we call life.

Except that he wrote it 20 years before his death.
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#138
April 22, 2016, 03:04:04 AM
Quote from: lescamil on April 21, 2016, 10:01:14 PM
Except that he wrote it 20 years before his death.

Got his musical affairs well in order, then?  8)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Mirror Image

#139
April 22, 2016, 03:29:51 AM
Quote from: lescamil on April 21, 2016, 10:01:14 PM
Except that he wrote it 20 years before his death.

But wasn't Arnold's mental state quite unstable for those remaining years? I seem to have read about this and that he had people that had to take care of him.
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