Arnold Hounored by ISM
12th January 2005
The ISM established its Distinguished Musician Award in 1976, as a means by which the profession could acknowledge the outstanding contribution of a colleague to British musical life. Previous recipients have included luminaries such as Sir William Walton, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Michael Tippett, Sir Simon Rattle, Witold Lutoslawski, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sir Charles Mackerras and John McCabe.
At its meeting on 27 November last, the ISM’s Council voted unanimously to confer the Award for 2004 on Sir Malcolm, himself a lifelong member of the ISM. Proposing Sir Malcolm for the Award, Kenneth Hÿtch, the ISM’s Eastern Regional Councillor, said:
‘In offering Sir Malcolm Arnold its Distinguished Musician Award for 2004, the ISM would be acknowledging the immense contribution of an increasingly recognised composer of great historical importance. His set of nine magnificent symphonies show the direct line of that genre back through Shostakovich, Mahler and Berlioz to Beethoven. Though now in well-deserved retirement, Sir Malcolm should be recognised for his lifetime’s achievements as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.’
Sir Malcolm said he was ‘thrilled to be honoured by the ISM, and to be joining such an eminent list of members who have received the Distinguished Musician Award’.
