sir Malcolm Arnold

[relm1]

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

Fascinating.  It reminds me of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies whose team was robbing him.  But way worse since Arnold had mental issues and was heavily drugged during this time.  Really awful.  Where do things stand now?  Is Day still alive?  Did Arnold's kids get any of Arnold's estate?

[Maestro267]

I was going to say why did they put a picture of someone else on the cover of that biography before realizing that I've never ever seen a picture of a young Malcolm Arnold before. All the photos I've seen are of him in older age.

[Roasted Swan]

Fascinating.  It reminds me of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies whose team was robbing him.  But way worse since Arnold had mental issues and was heavily drugged during this time.  Really awful.  Where do things stand now?  Is Day still alive?  Did Arnold's kids get any of Arnold's estate?

No, Anthony Day died in February 2019.  I doubt this book could/would have been written if he was still alive to contest it.  The terms of Arnold's last will left Day the house where they had lived in full (in fact Day as business manager had had the deeds transferred to him some years before) as well as 50% of the royalties.  After Arnold's death there was extended legal wrangles about ownership of his manuscripts which Day claimed to all be his but ultimately many were retained by the Arnold family and now are deposited at Eton college library.  On Day's death he in turn left his share of the royalty income in full and without any conditions to Bunwell Primary School (a small school near where Day and Arnold lived in Norfolk in the East of England) - which I assume benefits from this substantial gift to this day. 

The genuine tragedy of this story is how no-one benefitted and everyone's life - including Day's - was blighted.  My guess is that he genuinely thought he was "helping" Arnold but along the way reckoned he should receive his "fair share" of the financial pie that keeping Arnold alive generated.  But the book tells stories of broken relationships and perceived sleights throughout Day's life including his closest family - he had power of attroney over his mother's estate and took £50k from it without her consent or the consent of his siblings.  This book should be read by the curious but ultimately it tells the reader little about Arnold the artist/composer and perhaps too much about him as a very sick and rather tragic figure.

[lunar22]

Where do things stand now?  Is Day still alive?  Did Arnold's kids get any of Arnold's estate?

Day died in 2019. The kids certainly got something but Day got the greater part. What exactly happened to the estate after Day's death, perhaps someone else knows but it seems there are still arguments going on over the archives.

PS I see that Roasted Swan answered simultaneously with more info. It's a pretty strange irony to me that much of his archives are now in that pillar of the Establishment, Eton College. Surely Arnold would have turned in his grave -- or perhaps he would have seen the funny side

[Luke]

Fascinating.  It reminds me of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies whose team was robbing him.  But way worse since...

Just FWIW I heard some of the unreported domestic events surrounding the defrauding of PMD from friends and witnesses when I visited Sanday earlier this year, and the whole situation was shocking, extending way beyond theft into much scarier places.

[kyjo]

A masterpiece of Arnold's oeuvre that still receives far too little attention (even from fans of the composer) is the Fantasy on a Theme of John Field for piano and orchestra:



https://youtu.be/QZGKpVUf0fs?si=BZpvDQy2HRsnc-wM

A substantial piece at 22 minutes in length, it dates from the 1970s and contains echoes of the contemporaneous 7th Symphony in its more nightmarish moments, particularly the opening few minutes. The juxtapositions between the beguiling sweetness of the John Field nocturne that forms the basis of the work and the phantasmagorical, often disturbed passages that frequently disrupt it make for an absolutely thrilling rollercoaster ride of a listen. The work strikes me as very much a late-20th century counterpart to the Dohnanyi Variations on a Nursery Tune, though of course the Arnold is overall much darker in mood. It's given an absolutely scintillating performance on the above disc by Peter Donohoe and the RSNO under Martin Yates. Anyone else familiar with this rather extraordinary work?

[DavidW]

Kyjo,

Arnold's 7th is my second favorite Arnold symphony (with the 9th being my favorite).  What I like about Arnold is that even when he is dark, he is still rhythmic and melodic.  When I want something dark but I don't want to indulge in Pettersson, Mahler etc. that take it to 11, the 7th or the 9th is where I usually turn to.

[Symphonic Addict]

A masterpiece of Arnold's oeuvre that still receives far too little attention (even from fans of the composer) is the Fantasy on a Theme of John Field for piano and orchestra:



https://youtu.be/QZGKpVUf0fs?si=BZpvDQy2HRsnc-wM

A substantial piece at 22 minutes in length, it dates from the 1970s and contains echoes of the contemporaneous 7th Symphony in its more nightmarish moments, particularly the opening few minutes. The juxtapositions between the beguiling sweetness of the John Field nocturne that forms the basis of the work and the phantasmagorical, often disturbed passages that frequently disrupt it make for an absolutely thrilling rollercoaster ride of a listen. The work strikes me as very much a late-20th century counterpart to the Dohnanyi Variations on a Nursery Tune, though of course the Arnold is overall much darker in mood. It's given an absolutely scintillating performance on the above disc by Peter Donohoe and the RSNO under Martin Yates. Anyone else familiar with this rather extraordinary work?

Agreed, all what one wants to hear from Arnold's characteristic style is there.

[vandermolen]

Day died in 2019. The kids certainly got something but Day got the greater part. What exactly happened to the estate after Day's death, perhaps someone else knows but it seems there are still arguments going on over the archives.

PS I see that Roasted Swan answered simultaneously with more info. It's a pretty strange irony to me that much of his archives are now in that pillar of the Establishment, Eton College. Surely Arnold would have turned in his grave -- or perhaps he would have seen the funny side

After all, he did write the St Trinian's school song!

[lunar22]

After all, he did write the St Trinian's school song!

There is that -- and it's one of his more memorable lighter works.

[Roasted Swan]

A masterpiece of Arnold's oeuvre that still receives far too little attention (even from fans of the composer) is the Fantasy on a Theme of John Field for piano and orchestra:



https://youtu.be/QZGKpVUf0fs?si=BZpvDQy2HRsnc-wM

A substantial piece at 22 minutes in length, it dates from the 1970s and contains echoes of the contemporaneous 7th Symphony in its more nightmarish moments, particularly the opening few minutes. The juxtapositions between the beguiling sweetness of the John Field nocturne that forms the basis of the work and the phantasmagorical, often disturbed passages that frequently disrupt it make for an absolutely thrilling rollercoaster ride of a listen. The work strikes me as very much a late-20th century counterpart to the Dohnanyi Variations on a Nursery Tune, though of course the Arnold is overall much darker in mood. It's given an absolutely scintillating performance on the above disc by Peter Donohoe and the RSNO under Martin Yates. Anyone else familiar with this rather extraordinary work?

Interestingly, in the book I mention above Meredith singles out the Field Fantasy as a key Arnold work - its one of the few in this book that he discusses in much detail.  A lot has to do with Arnold increasingly fractured mental health at the time but he sees it as one where Arnold's compositional skill has not yet been seriously impaired by his health.  Key to its success he feels is a performance which fully embraces the harsh juxtapositions of styles and content.  In this regard I think Donohoe/Yates are the most successful by some distance of the 3 commercial recordings good though Lill/Handley & Dyson/Heikkila are.  This same Dutton disc contains the best version (for me) of Symphony 7 too.  Another potentially disturbing/perplexing work but one performed by Yates/RSNO with blazing conviction.  The first performance where the work "made sense" for me.  Overall an excellent Arnold disc and one that makes me sorry Yates has not recorded more......

[kyjo]

Interestingly, in the book I mention above Meredith singles out the Field Fantasy as a key Arnold work - its one of the few in this book that he discusses in much detail.  A lot has to do with Arnold increasingly fractured mental health at the time but he sees it as one where Arnold's compositional skill has not yet been seriously impaired by his health.  Key to its success he feels is a performance which fully embraces the harsh juxtapositions of styles and content.  In this regard I think Donohoe/Yates are the most successful by some distance of the 3 commercial recordings good though Lill/Handley & Dyson/Heikkila are.  This same Dutton disc contains the best version (for me) of Symphony 7 too.  Another potentially disturbing/perplexing work but one performed by Yates/RSNO with blazing conviction.  The first performance where the work "made sense" for me.  Overall an excellent Arnold disc and one that makes me sorry Yates has not recorded more......

Indeed, the Field Fantasy is one of the works which best encapsulates the multifaceted nature of Arnold's compositional personality (dark/nightmarish, fun/humorous, lyrical/Romantic) and the Dutton recording does it full justice. In fact, it's one of the best discs devoted to Arnold's music known to me - the 7th Symphony and Philharmonic Concerto are also fabulous.

[atardecer]

Malcolm Arnold - Fantasy for guitar op. 107
Shani Inbar guitar

Another piece by Arnold I'm impressed with, this is a very imaginative composition. I'm not sure I've come across another guitar work where the two low strings are combined to create the percussive effect as is done here. Another thing is often I find tremolo parts on classical guitar don't sound that great to me, yet I find the tremolo sections here quite unique (again with this I think he is more percussive in his approach) and tastefully written.

[Roasted Swan]

Courtesy of the recent biography - here's a quiz question for those interested......

Which "standard" orchestral instrument (present in many 19th century scores) did Arnold NEVER use because he disliked its sound? [NB: it does appear in one of the later scores edited/arranged by another hand but never by Arnold himself]

[lunar22]

although on a website which lists his orchestral music with orchestration, there is a symbol for cor anglais, I can't so far find any works which contain it and there are a few composers who dislike it (I love it and use it all the time...). I also can't think offhand of any prominent solo for that instrument. So that for a wild guess?

[Roasted Swan]

although on a website which lists his orchestral music with orchestration, there is a symbol for cor anglais, I can't so far find any works which contain it and there are a few composers who dislike it (I love it and use it all the time...). I also can't think offhand of any prominent solo for that instrument. So that for a wild guess?

Well done - got it in one!  I must admit I love the Cor Anglais - no explanation is given as to why Arnold did not.

[relm1]

Courtesy of the recent biography - here's a quiz question for those interested......

Which "standard" orchestral instrument (present in many 19th century scores) did Arnold NEVER use because he disliked its sound? [NB: it does appear in one of the later scores edited/arranged by another hand but never by Arnold himself]

I was thinking of tuba, but no, that was Sibelius who didn't use Tuba after his Symphony No. 2.  Maybe harp?

[lunar22]

Indeed, the Field Fantasy is one of the works which best encapsulates the multifaceted nature of Arnold's compositional personality (dark/nightmarish, fun/humorous, lyrical/Romantic) 

it's no surprise the Field Fantasy comes at a similar period to the 7th symphony. Both are among his darkest and most troubled works as well as being among the finest.

[relm1]

it's no surprise the Field Fantasy comes at a similar period to the 7th symphony. Both are among his darkest and most troubled works as well as being among the finest.

I also like the Philharmonic Concerto which I think is from the same period and feels like a symphony, perhaps a concerto for orchestra given its title. 

[lunar22]

indeed -- I sometimes think of the Field Fantasy and Philharmonic Concerto almost in the same breath despite the obvious differences.