Composer: Malcolm Arnold
Performer: Michael Collins
Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Rumon Gamba
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN20152
Release: 2023
Size: 1.17 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Commonwealth Christmas Overture, Op. 64
Clarinet Concerto No. 1, Op. 20
02. I. Allegro
03. II. Andante con moto
04. III. Molto allegro con fuoco
Divertimento No. 2, Op. 24 / Op. 75
05. I. Fanfare
06. II. Nocturne
07. III. Chaconne
08. Larch Trees, Op. 3
Philharmonic Concerto, Op. 120
09. I. Intrada
10. II. Aria
11. III. Chacony
12. The Padstow Lifeboat, Op. 94a (Arr. for Orchestra by Philip Lane)
Rumo n Gamba leads the BBC Philharmonic in this collection of lesser-known pieces by the British composer Sir Malcolm Arnold. Born in 1921, he was inspired by Louis Armstrong to take up the trumpet at the age of twelve. Following study at the Royal College of Music, in London, he became Principal Trumpet of the London Philharmonic, in 1943 ? a post he held (bar one season at the BBC Symphony Orchestra) until he moved to composing full time, in 1948. Arnold was active in many genres, writing nine symphonies, two operas, five ballets, and more than 100 film scores, including The Bridge on the River Kwai for which he won an Oscar. This album features music from across his compositional career, from Larch Trees (1943) to the Philharmonic Concerto (1976) ? both works written for the London Philharmonic. His Divertimento was written for the newly formed National Youth Orchestra, whilst the BBC commissioned the Commonwealth Christmas Overture for the twenty-fifth anniversary of King George VI?s first Christmas Broadcast, in 1932. The Clarinet Concerto No. 1, expertly performed here by Michael Collins, was written for Frederick (?Jack?) Thurston who gave the premiere, in 1949, at the Edinburgh Festival. The album concludes with Philip Lane?s o rchestration of The Padstow Lifeboat, originally composed for brass band to celebrate the launch of a new lifeboat in Padstow in 1968.