Summer 2010Newsletter
Malcolm Arnold at 90 The ninetieth anniversary of the birth of Malcolm Arnold falls in 2011, providing a perfect opportunity to celebrate the work of one of the most distinctive musical voices of the twentieth century.
Photo credit © June Mendoza Recent recordings, performances and publications ensure that the composer remains in the public eye. A new Chandos recording of Arnold’s ballet music featuring the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Rumon Gamba and including Electra and the suite from Homage to the Queen has received widespread first-class reviews. The Three Musketeers has recently completed a run of fifteen performances at Estonian National Ballet, marking the continued success of the show which was first performed in 2006 and boasts a vintage all-Arnold score. A new study score of the Suite from Homage to the Queen is now available from music retailers and www.musicroom.com.
From an early career as a trumpeter Arnold became one of the foremost orchestral composers of his generation. His nine symphonies rank among the jewels of a remarkably wide-ranging output which also includes concertos written for many renowned musicians, seven ballets and countless scores for some of the most memorable films of the 1950s and 60s – The Bridge on the River Kwai, Hobson’s Choice, St Trinian’s and The Inn of the Sixth Happiness among them.