Symphonies Nos 1 - 9
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MALCOLM ARNOLD
Symphonies Nos 1 - 9
London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox / BBC Philharmonic, Rumon Gamba
[ Chandos Classics / 4 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Wednesday 15 April 2015
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
This four-CD box set presents the complete cycle of the award winning recordings of Sir Malcolm Arnold's Symphonies under two of the finest conductors of their times, both exclusive to Chandos: the late Richard Hickox and Rumon Gamba, respectively conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic.
The set is a must-have for all fans of Arnold as well as for those who want to know more about his symphonic compositions.
Among the English symphonists of the twentieth century, Malcolm Arnold is one of the very few prolific high-profile masters of the genre - comparable to Vaughan Williams and his nine symphonies. The emotional and colouristic range of his style, together with his structural originality, sets his achievements apart from those of his compatriots who, likewise, engaged with the symphony to any significant extent.
The depth of Arnold's artistic vision was strikingly demonstrated by the monumental Fifth Symphony (1961), which left many distinguished reviewers perplexed by its disconcerting juxtaposition of the profound and the banal. Arnold's late symphonies build on the strengths of their predecessors, reflecting tension and contrasts in quite different ways. As so often in Arnold's work, the humorous and the funereal continue to exist side by side.
.'One consistent advantage of Gamba's faster speeds is that the extra challenge to the orchestra brings out an element of daring, almost always an advantage in writing that is surreal in its sharp juxtaposition of ideas and mood, with Mahlerian references to popular music.' - Gramophone on Symphonies 7, 8 & 9
"Well done to Chandos, too, for recording it all. It's testimony not just to their commitment to British music but, more generally, to their great artistic vision and their willingness to follow an idea, particularly when it is championed by such enthusiastic evangelists. The booklet notes, by the way, contain not just helpful comments on the music itself but also lots of contextual knowledge about the composer himself, and are a helpful guide to his musical world." (MusicWeb June 2015)
Tracks:
Symphony No. 1, Op. 22
Symphony No. 2, Op. 40
Symphony No. 3, Op. 63
Symphony No. 4, Op. 71
Symphony No. 5, Op. 74
Symphony No. 6, Op. 95
Symphony No. 7, Op. 113 31:52
Symphony No. 8, Op. 124 24:34
Symphony No. 9, Op. 128 47:07
