# SS 17.03.18 - Arnold #5



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

Welcome to another weekend of symphonic listening! 
_*
*_For your listening pleasure this weekend:*

Malcolm Arnold (1921 - 2006)*

Symphony No. 5, Op. 74

1. Tempestuoso
2. Andante con moto - Adagio
3. Con fuoco
4. Risoluto - Lento

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Post what recording you are going to listen to giving details of Orchestra / Conductor / Chorus / Soloists etc - Enjoy!


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Another weekend is here and this weekend is the first appearance of British composer Malcolm Arnold with his Fifth Symphony. I haven't spend too much time with Malcolm over the years so I'm looking forward to giving this one a fresh listen.

I'll be listening too:







Vernon Handley/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

​
_Arnold_: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6

London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox.
Long time not listened , going with Hickox.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

I'll listen to the Handley recording too. I have the Naxos set under Andrew Penny as well, but Handley is marginally better overall, helped by a very good recording quality.

I've never really worked out how "serious" Malcolm Arnold is meant to be. These works do have some substance, and I suppose judging him by his silly overture with Hoovers in it is thoroughly unfair! I reckon No.5 is comfortably one of his better Symphonies.


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## kyjo (Jan 1, 2018)

I share the view of many that the 5th Symphony is Arnold's masterpiece. In fact, it has become one of my very favorite pieces of classical music. It's a brilliant and ultimately moving work with a gorgeous slow movement and a shocking, devastating ending that is unlike anything else in the repertoire. The way Arnold reprises the main theme of the slow movement in grand fashion near the end and then abruptly cuts it off with a shattering stroke on the tubular bell, followed by a rapid descent into abyssal darkness, is sheer genius. I get chills just thinking about it! Hickox and the LSO on Chandos is my reference recording.


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## D Smith (Sep 13, 2014)

I'll be listening to this one: Arnold/Birmingham. It's been ages since I've listened to any of his works so looking forward to this one.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

As I have the whole Naxos Arnold symphony set on CD, I'll go with Andrew Penny & the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. I bought each one of the Arnold symphony discs in Stockport Woolworths closing down sale for 50p each. I bought about 15 Naxos discs for £15 that day. Not listened to these since I bought them about 10 years ago.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Jings another I’ll miss as I have no discs of this Symphony.
Thankfully I should have a new laptop before next weekend.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

kyjo said:


> I share the view of many that the 5th Symphony is Arnold's masterpiece. In fact, it has become one of my very favorite pieces of classical music. It's a brilliant and ultimately moving work with a gorgeous slow movement and a shocking, devastating ending that is unlike anything else in the repertoire. The way Arnold reprises the main theme of the slow movement in grand fashion near the end and then abruptly cuts it off with a shattering stroke on the tubular bell, followed by a rapid descent into abyssal darkness, is sheer genius. I get chills just thinking about it! Hickox and the LSO on Chandos is my reference recording.


Nice analysis. I haven't listened to any of the Arnold Symphonies for a time but I had burned some of them them to iTunes and the cloud recently so having a slow afternoon at work and listening on my phone to the Andrew Penney recording.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

realdealblues said:


> Another weekend is here and this weekend is the first appearance of British composer Malcolm Arnold with his Fifth Symphony. I haven't spend too much time with Malcolm over the years so I'm looking forward to giving this one a fresh listen.
> 
> I'll be listening too:
> View attachment 102165
> ...


Yes this one for me too
Looking forward to this one


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## cougarjuno (Jul 1, 2012)

Absolutely love Arnold's music. More familiar with the wonderful 3rd and 4th symphonies so listening to the 5th will be a pleasure as his music is always interesting -- a deep and fertile composing mind. Hickox and London Symphony for me.


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

Found this from Deezer so I will listen that one


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

How good to finally see Sir Malcolm Arnold represented in the Saturday Symphonies. He is so underated - in my opinion one of the most unnecessarily underated composers from the 20th century. I think one of the problems is that he genuinely had a sense of humour and wasn't afraid to use this in _some_ of his music; another is that he wasn't afraid to challenge ideals and promoted the outrageous (then) fusion of rock and classical genres in Jon Lord's 'Concerto for Group and Orchestra' back in 1969. Finally he was doing the almost criminal thing in later 20th century classical music of actually writing tunes, and this created snorts of derision from more progressive and forward-thinking composers (and critics) that were creating a reputation at the time from which Arnold has never really recovered.
The fifth symphony is probably Arnold's best known symphony, and it's really deserving of serious listening. For those not familiar with Anold's work, the beautiful, sweeping themes of the second movement adagio might be so easy to listen to that it may sound almost 'Hollywood'; but for typical Arnold listen carefully to the bouncy 3rd movement. It has very colourful scoring, episodes of gentleness occasionally blasted by brass eruptions, and a wonderful 'half-tune' in the central section initially played on the woodwinds before passing to horns, then back to woods again. The opening of the finale with the 'fife & drum' militaristic glimpses may seem a little twee, but this develops into a more complex march before the adagio theme comes sweeping back in true big romance style, but this is no happy ending....
I'll be very interested to read what others think fo this symphony.

I'm listening to the one in this box.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Mika said:


> View attachment 102177
> 
> Found this from Deezer so I will listen that one


I didn't realize that there are 11 Arnold Symphonies


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Nine numbered, plus the Symphony for strings and a Brass Symphony. That Decca set is overwhelmingly the Conifer Handley recordings. 

This is not me being clever or omniscient, I had to look it up! Slightly relieved, as it would be hard to justify the need for a third Arnold cycle in my collection!!


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## Bill Cooke (May 20, 2017)

Haven't listened to an Arnold symphony in ages. This is the one I have...


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## kyjo (Jan 1, 2018)

techniquest said:


> How good to finally see Sir Malcolm Arnold represented in the Saturday Symphonies. He is so underated - in my opinion one of the most unnecessarily underated composers from the 20th century. I think one of the problems is that he genuinely had a sense of humour and wasn't afraid to use this in _some_ of his music; another is that he wasn't afraid to challenge ideals and promoted the outrageous (then) fusion of rock and classical genres in Jon Lord's 'Concerto for Group and Orchestra' back in 1969. Finally he was doing the almost criminal thing in later 20th century classical music of actually writing tunes, and this created snorts of derision from more progressive and forward-thinking composers (and critics) that were creating a reputation at the time from which Arnold has never really recovered.
> The fifth symphony is probably Arnold's best known symphony, and it's really deserving of serious listening. For those not familiar with Anold's work, the beautiful, sweeping themes of the second movement adagio might be so easy to listen to that it may sound almost 'Hollywood'; but for typical Arnold listen carefully to the bouncy 3rd movement. It has very colourful scoring, episodes of gentleness occasionally blasted by brass eruptions, and a wonderful 'half-tune' in the central section initially played on the woodwinds before passing to horns, then back to woods again. The opening of the finale with the 'fife & drum' militaristic glimpses may seem a little twee, but this develops into a more complex march before the adagio theme comes sweeping back in true big romance style, but this is no happy ending....
> I'll be very interested to read what others think fo this symphony.
> 
> ...


Very much agree with everything you say here! Arnold is indeed a tragically underrated composer and his best works deserve to be heard and performed by a wider audience. I think Arnold is very much like a "mid-20th century Mahler" (even more so than Shostakovich is) in the way that his music juxtaposes dark, serious elements with lighter, "popular" material. A great example of this "pop music" influence is found in the middle section of the 5th Symphony's scherzo.

P.S. It would be really nice if everyone who participates in the Saturday Symphonies report back to the symphony's thread with their impressions of the work. That makes things much more interesting than if people just post what recording they're gonna listen to. I'd especially like to hear everyone's thoughts on the Arnold 5th, as it's a piece I'm very passionate about!


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

I have to say that I am not that familiar with the works of Arnold but having listened to the 5th Symphony then I shall look to explore more.
First impressions were similar to others here. At first the melodic parts of this work did seem quite superficial but with a little help from the pointers given by others the detail became more apparent
Old fashioned for it's time it might be but good music will always stand the test of time.


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## kyjo (Jan 1, 2018)

Haydn man said:


> I have to say that I am not that familiar with the works of Arnold but having listened to the 5th Symphony then I shall look to explore more.
> First impressions were similar to others here. At first the melodic parts of this work did seem quite superficial but with a little help from the pointers given by others the detail became more apparent
> Old fashioned for it's time it might be but good music will always stand the test of time.


Great to hear your impressions! Yeah, the way Arnold throws in those unabashedly melodic "big tunes" into his music may sound superficial at first, but I find it to be very convincing in the overall narrative of his works. Arnold is always sure to contrast these "big tunes" with more serious, "modern" sounding material soon afterwards to keep the listener on their toes!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Listening to Andrew Penny on Naxos.

Just a personal observation, I'm a sucker for orchestration, and I like the sounds he gets from the orchestra.


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## kyjo (Jan 1, 2018)

Manxfeeder said:


> Listening to Andrew Penny on Naxos.
> 
> Just a personal observation, I'm a sucker for orchestration, and I like the sounds he gets from the orchestra.
> 
> View attachment 102183


Indeed, Arnold is a fantastic orchestrator - one of the very best of mid-to-late 20th century IMO. I especially love the hypnotic, music-box like sounds he creates in sections of the first movement of the 5th.


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## Johnnie Burgess (Aug 30, 2015)

Malcolm Arnold, Symphony # 5 Op. 74: Richard Hickox, London Symphony Orchestra:


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## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

kyjo said:


> Indeed, Arnold is a fantastic orchestrator - one of the very best of mid-to-late 20th century IMO. I especially love the hypnotic, music-box like sounds he creates in sections of the first movement of the 5th.


Me too. I also like his writing for the timpani. It really adds a lot and is very effective.

I listened to Andrew Penny and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

It is fantastic to see Malcolm Arnold pop up. He is without a doubt one of my favourite British Composers, very underrated - like a quite a few British Composers sadly.

I’ll go with Vernon Handley’s superb Conifer Recording. That box set is an incredible treasure trove and a better introduction to Malcolm Arnold you could not ask for. I also have the Naxos and Chandos recordings too and as excellent as they both are, it is Handley I keep returning to.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

I thoroughly enjoyed getting reacquainted with this wonderful Symphony! Nobody here has mentioned the dedication it merited, though, to four friends who "died too young". So it's clearly a heartfelt piece. Love the closing calm of the first movement, wonderful glockenspiels, and the half music hall half bitter bouncy third movement.

I listened to both Handley and Penny. The former won hands down.


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## kyjo (Jan 1, 2018)

Robert Pickett said:


> I thoroughly enjoyed getting reacquainted with this wonderful Symphony! Nobody here has mentioned the dedication it merited, though, to four friends who "died too young". So it's clearly a heartfelt piece. Love the closing calm of the first movement, wonderful glockenspiels, and the half music hall half bitter bouncy third movement.
> 
> I listened to both Handley and Penny. The former won hands down.


Indeed, it is truly a piece from the heart, and as a result drew ire from the critics of the time, who favored the "ivory tower" avant-garde composers. I would hope that a composer such as Arnold would find a much wider audience today, when similarly "emotional" composers such as Mahler and Shostakovich are so popular with audiences, but he seems to be continually ignored by concert programmers...


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Hurrah - new laptop arrived and up and running - so via Spotify the RPO and Handley from this box:

View attachment 102295


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## kyjo (Jan 1, 2018)

Malx said:


> Hurrah - new laptop arrived and up and running - so via Spotify the RPO and Handley from this box:
> 
> View attachment 102295


I could've sworn I saw that set was available on Spotify, but now I can't seem to find it! What should I type in the search engine to find it?


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

kyjo said:


> I could've sworn I saw that set was available on Spotify, but now I can't seem to find it! What should I type in the search engine to find it?


Type in "Malcolm Arnold" scroll down to albums click on that then its in among the multitude of albums.

Good luck!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Can't remember hearing Arnold's 5th. I'll be listening to Hickox and the LSO, from the box set.










"The Symphony is a remembrance of four of Arnold's friends who died too young:

Humorist Gerard Hoffnung
Clarinettist Frederick Thurston
Ballet choreographer David Paltenghi
Horn player Dennis Brain"


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## leonsm (Jan 15, 2011)

I listened my first time today, so this is what I can say: with only a first glance, I loved the entire symphony. What a work, I don't know if I will continue to enjoy this symphony in the next months, this is a premature review, but I loved very much this first impression that I had. I hope I'll enjoy very much this work in the next weeks.

Only for the record, I'm listening to LSO/Richard Hickox.


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