CD REVIEW
– MALCOLM
ARNOLD
A Centenary Celebration
PETER FISHER violin / MARGARET
FINGERHUT piano
SOMM Recordings
SOMMCD 0640 [69:03]
'
Malcolm Arnold was
Northampton born in October 1921
and died in September 2006. His
music was once described by
Sunday Times critic Paul Driver
as "fecund, fastidious,
witty, touching, melodious,
sardonic, profound". Driver
also opined that Arnold was
"a many-faceted composer
… too often neglected",
and your reviewer must admit to
having let this autumn release
pass him by.
Most of us will
have orchestral versions of his Four
Scottish Dances and Five
English Dances in our
collections and they sound
equally attractive played by
Fisher and Fingerhut, two
instrumentalists previously very
highly praised by The Times and
Gramophone respectively.
Other faces of
Arnold including the above
recorded here for the first time
are a third dance arrangement: Sarabande
from his ballet 'Solitaire';
film excerpts from 'Hobson’s
Choice', 'Trapeze' and 'The Chalk
Garden'; and Thème pour mon
Amis, a piece written for
whistler and piano. All are
arranged by the chairman of the
Malcolm Arnold Society, Alan
Poulton.
Completing the 23
fine sounding tracks are what the
afore-named in his admirable
liner notes calls "Three
Serious Pieces": Sonatas
for Violin and Piano Nos. 1 &
2 and Five Pieces for
Violin and Piano. The final
movement of this last work
written for Yehudi Menuhin was
dedicated to the saxophonist
Charlie Parker. In 1972 Arnold
donated his autograph score to
Oxfam.
For the second
time recently SOMM must be
commended for their choice of
booklet cover. The print, hung in
the composer's study for many
years, is by Henry Pyall and
called 'Private Passions' or 'A
Solo at Home'.
This release
– recorded at Henry Wood
Hall, London during lockdown in
November and December 2020 –
is a fascinating varied selection
affectionately performed, and
definitely worth investigating.
© Peter
Burt 2021
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