ARNOLD: COMPLETE SYMPHONIES AND DANCES (6 CDS)

Recorded in the presence of the composer, Andrew Penny’s survey of the Complete Symphonies and Dances by Sir Malcolm Arnold has long been considered to contain benchmark recordings. Born in 1921, Sir Malcolm Arnold quickly established himself as a fluent and versatile composer, a gifted tunesmith and a brilliant orchestrator. His music is typically lucid in texture, rich in melody and clear in draughtsmanship yet there are frequent signs of a complex musical personality and dramatic tensions not far beneath the surface. The Dances are light-hearted, vivid and jaunty, yet the nine symphonies explore the composer’s darker side, painting a picture of his private ‘journey through hell’ as he struggled with physical and mental health issues. They are masterworks which exert continued appeal and stimulate repeated listening.

ARNOLD, M.: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 (Ireland National Symphony, A. Penny)  8.553406
ARNOLD, M.: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 (Ireland National Symphony, A. Penny)  8.553739
ARNOLD, M.: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6 (Ireland National Symphony, A. Penny)  8.552000
ARNOLD, M.: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8 (Ireland National Symphony, A. Penny)  8.552001
ARNOLD, M.: Symphony No. 9 (Ireland National Symphony, A. Penny)  8.553540
ARNOLD, M.: English Dances, Sets 1 and 2 / Scottish Dances / Cornish Dances / Irish Dances / Welsh Dances (Queensland Symphony, A. Penny)  8.553526