sir Malcolm Arnold

[vandermolen]

He's certainly one of my favorite English composers! He was equally at home in writing both "serious" and "light" music, but much like the equally underrated Kabalevsky from the Soviet Union, he's often dismissed as a composer of exclusively light music (not that there should be anything wrong with that, of course!) whilst in reality there are numerous works of great depth and substance in his output. What I wouldn't give to see a live performance of the 5th Symphony at some point in my life, but I'm not holding my breath...

The 5th is the only one that I have seen live. At the Barbican in London. It was an Arnold birthday concert (80th?) Arnold was there and I got his autograph on the programme - a memorable evening!

[relm1]

The 5th is the only one that I have seen live. At the Barbican in London. It was an Arnold birthday concert (80th?) Arnold was there and I got his autograph on the programme - a memorable evening!

Wow!  Have you somewhere listed all the famous composers/musicians you've met during your life? 

[vandermolen]

Wow!  Have you somewhere listed all the famous composers/musicians you've met during your life? 

The only one that I had a proper conversation with was Vladimir Jurowski, who was absolutely charming. I managed to get the autograph of Malcolm Arnold (who seemed a bit spaced-out) and Lennox Berkeley who asked if I was a musician (sadly not). I have, however, had some very nice correspondence with a few composers including John Kinsella, Stale Kleiberg, George Lloyd, William Alwyn, David Diamond, Vagn Holmboe and the poet Ursula Vaughan Williams.

[Irons]

The only one that I had a proper conversation with was Vladimir Jurowski, who was absolutely charming. I managed to get the autograph of Malcolm Arnold (who seemed a bit spaced-out) and Lennox Berkeley who asked if I was a musician (sadly not). I have, however, had some very nice correspondence with a few composers including John Kinsella, Stale Kleiberg, George Lloyd, William Alwyn, David Diamond, Vagn Holmboe and the poet Ursula Vaughan Williams.

Your correspondence may turn up in a publication of a composer's letters, Jeffrey. That would be something!

[Roasted Swan]

Hidden away on an unpromisingly titled "Best of the BBC Proms" cover disc of the July BBC Music Magazine is Sakari Oramo's excellent performance of Arnold Symphony No.5 from the 2021 Proms;



Still in newsagents for a few more days I think.  Other works are Foulds' Le Cabaret Overture from the same 2021 Prom, RVW's "Toward the Unknown Region" from 2018 and some de Falla and a short piece by Laura Mvula

[Carshot]

Thanks for the tip - found it on eBay!

[vandermolen]

Hidden away on an unpromisingly titled "Best of the BBC Proms" cover disc of the July BBC Music Magazine is Sakari Oramo's excellent performance of Arnold Symphony No.5 from the 2021 Proms;



Still in newsagents for a few more days I think.  Other works are Foulds' Le Cabaret Overture from the same 2021 Prom, RVW's "Toward the Unknown Region" from 2018 and some de Falla and a short piece by Laura Mvula

Excellent news! Thanks. Will try to get a copy tomorrow.

[vandermolen]

Hidden away on an unpromisingly titled "Best of the BBC Proms" cover disc of the July BBC Music Magazine is Sakari Oramo's excellent performance of Arnold Symphony No.5 from the 2021 Proms;



Still in newsagents for a few more days I think.  Other works are Foulds' Le Cabaret Overture from the same 2021 Prom, RVW's "Toward the Unknown Region" from 2018 and some de Falla and a short piece by Laura Mvula

Am listening to it now - a fine performance.

[Roasted Swan]

Am listening to it now - a fine performance.

TBH - I haven't listened to the disc yet but my memory of the live concert was a powerful performance but "different" at certain poiints from what I am used to.  Is that a fair assessment?

[vandermolen]

TBH - I haven't listened to the disc yet but my memory of the live concert was a powerful performance but "different" at certain poiints from what I am used to.  Is that a fair assessment?

Yes, absolutely right IMO. Some sections made me sit up but overall a very fine performance which the audience clearly enjoyed.

[Carshot]

Yes, absolutely right IMO. Some sections made me sit up but overall a very fine performance which the audience clearly enjoyed.

I have listened to this newly released recording several times now and what strikes me is that in places counter rhythms usually treated as supporting subservient strands are given equal prominence here, and to very good effect. Whether this is a decision of the conductor or recording engineers I don't know but suspect the former. Very happy to have this new recording to add to my library.
 

[vandermolen]

I have listened to this newly released recording several times now and what strikes me is that in places counter rhythms usually treated as supporting subservient strands are given equal prominence here, and to very good effect. Whether this is a decision of the conductor or recording engineers I don't know but suspect the former. Very happy to have this new recording to add to my library.
 

A very good point! You explain the appeal of this new recording much better than I could.

[Carshot]

The "official" Malcolm Arnold site is down, reporting that "The MalcolmArnold.co.uk website is currently on hold under the management of SWW Trust Corporation. " Can anyone throw light on what has happened please?

http://malcolmarnold.co.uk/recordings/recordings.html

[Roasted Swan]

The "official" Malcolm Arnold site is down, reporting that "The MalcolmArnold.co.uk website is currently on hold under the management of SWW Trust Corporation. " Can anyone throw light on what has happened please?

http://malcolmarnold.co.uk/recordings/recordings.html

"SWW Trust Corporation
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So perhaps the Malcolm Arnold Estate is still being haggled over......?

[Roasted Swan]

Last night I finished reading (wading!) through this recent biography;



I bought the book as soon as it was published quite a few months ago but simply could not face reading it until now.  In many ways it is revelatory and extremely detailed.  But the story it tells in painful detail is a dark and tragic one.  Arnold's struggles with his mental health later in life were known of but I did not know/realise that he was bi-polar all of his adult life.  Even in his early 20's when working as the principal trumpet in the LPO he had to have an extended leave of absence due to the first of many serious breakdowns.  He was in and out of mental institutions for his entire life.  Heartbreaking details such as he wrote his sunny/life-affirming set of English Dances straight after release from one such incarceration when he was given experimental (now rejected) insulin therapy.

Profound mental health issues compounded by alcolholism meant that his personal life was a disaster for both him and those closest to him.  But the bulk - and I do mean the bulk of this 500+ page book is spent dissecting the years he was looked after by Anthony Day.  Author Meredith lays out the painful detail and this is written almost like a case for the prosecution against Day, his treatment of Arnold and his manipulation of the (valuable) Arnold estate.  It is damming in the extreme.  This is not the place to go into all the arguments and counter arguments - which do exist.  Meredith suggests quite strongly that Day "made" Arnold compose some of his later works even when it was clear that his bi-polar issues as well as the on-set of dementia meant that these works were a shadow of his former glories.  Also, according to Meredith all of Arnold's later recordings (from the late 70's on) were made with Arnold under the direct influence of powerful medication and as such the slow speeds - often discussed here and elsewhere- are not as such a genuine "musical" choice but the product of a drugged mind.  Many of the later works were edited/completed/revised by others who Day then sought to marginalise so as to give the impression that this was a "late flowering" by Arnold himself.

The book continues its narrative after Arnold's death detailing - again painfully - the legal battle between Day and the Arnold children to regain control of his estate - there is some discussion that Day got Arnold to write a new will making him main inheritor.  The sad sad truth is that no-one including Day in this story ultimately "gained" from this.  Arnold's family were estranged and experienced damaging family crises in his earlier life, Arnold himself was clearly a genius but one who was very ill for nearly his entire life.  Even Day, whatever his motivations and personality did devote over twenty years to the daily personal care of a very ill man at considerable personal cost died relatively soon after without any real sense of happiness or fulfilment.

Clearly the music and the man are intertwined but for me this book makes no attempt to really discuss the music - in the closing pages there is not a single comment on Arnold's musical legacy.  There is some discussion about the "worth" of the 9th Symphony.  Personally I do still think that is an extraordinary achievement precisely because of how Arnold was able to produce the work - which is "less" than earlier works - when caught in the vice of his illnesses.  Interestingly there is no mention of other hands doing anything to this work - its the Michaela Petri pieces, the Welsh Dances, The Manx Suite, the 2nd Brass Quintet and the infamous Cello Concerto amongst others that are mentioned as being the pieces that should have been left unwritten....

This book does make me want to listen again to much of Arnold's work although I'm not sure I'll ever be able to hear any of his music again as completely free of shadows.  Which of course is the main irony given that the enduring public persona of Arnold is this rotund, jolly man dancing on the podium in Hoffnung Festival mode.  You do learn a lot about Arnold reading this book but sadness is the enduring emotion.

[vandermolen]

Last night I finished reading (wading!) through this recent biography;



I bought the book as soon as it was published quite a few months ago but simply could not face reading it until now.  In many ways it is revelatory and extremely detailed.  But the story it tells in painful detail is a dark and tragic one.  Arnold's struggles with his mental health later in life were known of but I did not know/realise that he was bi-polar all of his adult life.  Even in his early 20's when working as the principal trumpet in the LPO he had to have an extended leave of absence due to the first of many serious breakdowns.  He was in and out of mental institutions for his entire life.  Heartbreaking details such as he wrote his sunny/life-affirming set of English Dances straight after release from one such incarceration when he was given experimental (now rejected) insulin therapy.

Profound mental health issues compounded by alcolholism meant that his personal life was a disaster for both him and those closest to him.  But the bulk - and I do mean the bulk of this 500+ page book is spent dissecting the years he was looked after by Anthony Day.  Author Meredith lays out the painful detail and this is written almost like a case for the prosecution against Day, his treatment of Arnold and his manipulation of the (valuable) Arnold estate.  It is damming in the extreme.  This is not the place to go into all the arguments and counter arguments - which do exist.  Meredith suggests quite strongly that Day "made" Arnold compose some of his later works even when it was clear that his bi-polar issues as well as the on-set of dementia meant that these works were a shadow of his former glories.  Also, according to Meredith all of Arnold's later recordings (from the late 70's on) were made with Arnold under the direct influence of powerful medication and as such the slow speeds - often discussed here and elsewhere- are not as such a genuine "musical" choice but the product of a drugged mind.  Many of the later works were edited/completed/revised by others who Day then sought to marginalise so as to give the impression that this was a "late flowering" by Arnold himself.

The book continues its narrative after Arnold's death detailing - again painfully - the legal battle between Day and the Arnold children to regain control of his estate - there is some discussion that Day got Arnold to write a new will making him main inheritor.  The sad sad truth is that no-one including Day in this story ultimately "gained" from this.  Arnold's family were estranged and experienced damaging family crises in his earlier life, Arnold himself was clearly a genius but one who was very ill for nearly his entire life.  Even Day, whatever his motivations and personality did devote over twenty years to the daily personal care of a very ill man at considerable personal cost died relatively soon after without any real sense of happiness or fulfilment.

Clearly the music and the man are intertwined but for me this book makes no attempt to really discuss the music - in the closing pages there is not a single comment on Arnold's musical legacy.  There is some discussion about the "worth" of the 9th Symphony.  Personally I do still think that is an extraordinary achievement precisely because of how Arnold was able to produce the work - which is "less" than earlier works - when caught in the vice of his illnesses.  Interestingly there is no mention of other hands doing anything to this work - its the Michaela Petri pieces, the Welsh Dances, The Manx Suite, the 2nd Brass Quintet and the infamous Cello Concerto amongst others that are mentioned as being the pieces that should have been left unwritten....

This book does make me want to listen again to much of Arnold's work although I'm not sure I'll ever be able to hear any of his music again as completely free of shadows.  Which of course is the main irony given that the enduring public persona of Arnold is this rotund, jolly man dancing on the podium in Hoffnung Festival mode.  You do learn a lot about Arnold reading this book but sadness is the enduring emotion.

Interesting review - thanks

[lunar22]

this book seems to have had mixed reviews -- among the complaints are the biased treatment of Day and the dismissal of all his late works, both of which you highlight. I think for true Arnold fans, the 9th symphony is a critical work -- it may be relatively basic on a technical level but nevertheless speaks directly to the heart. And leaves us with the message that inspiration and depth of feeling are ultimately far more important than technical facility, although of course in his prime, Arnold had both. Perhaps I'll get it when it comes out in paperback.

[Papy Oli]

Last night I finished reading (wading!) through this recent biography;

Interesting review - thanks

indeed, thanks @Roasted Swan !

[Roasted Swan]

this book seems to have had mixed reviews -- among the complaints are the biased treatment of Day and the dismissal of all his late works, both of which you highlight. I think for true Arnold fans, the 9th symphony is a critical work -- it may be relatively basic on a technical level but nevertheless speaks directly to the heart. And leaves us with the message that inspiration and depth of feeling are ultimately far more important than technical facility, although of course in his prime, Arnold had both. Perhaps I'll get it when it comes out in paperback.

to the bolded text - exactly so and very well put......

[atardecer]

This forum reminded me of this composer, and I'm starting to get into his music I think. I had listened to the guitar concerto ages ago and thought it was good. I recently re-listened to the guitar concerto and then tried the 5th symphony and thought both were excellent.