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The 19th Malcolm Arnold Festival, 2024

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posted by Ben Hogwood – text copied from the festival’s press release:

One of England’s most colourful and charismatic composers – Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) – is to be celebrated at the 19th International Malcolm Arnold Festival; an annual programme of events centred around the multi-faceted composer and his music. The composer’s hometown of Northampton will host a day of live music-making on Saturday 19 October, and a specially procured programme to attract listeners from around the world will live-stream on Sunday 27 October.

SATURDAY 19 OCTOBER – LIVE MUSIC CONTINUNES ALL DAY

Continuing his successful presentations in both live and digital formats, Festival Director Paul Harris is extending the reach of Malcolm Arnold’s music to listeners everywhere, with live concerts and a Symposium hosted in the composer’s hometown, and a specially conceived live-stream day, presenting recorded performances and talks, this year with a particular focus on Arnold’s songs and choral works – a relatively little-known area of the composer’s output.

Paul Harris says: “This year we are offering three concerts within central Northampton (Malcolm’s birthplace), all in walkable distances from each other. We are delighted that Saturday’s launch concert will take place at St Peter’s, marking the reopening of the church as a performance space.”

Launched by composer, Matthew Taylor, listeners will be able to enjoy a programme of rousing music for brass, one of Malcolm Arnold’s most popular genres as a renowned trumpet player himself, performed by Spectacle Brass Quintet lead by Nick Budd. Following this there will be a performance of the composer’s second String Quartet performed by students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Live music continues throughout the day, transferring to All Saints’ Church, just a short walk away, with music for choir and organ to include the composer’s psalms and part songs, his John Clare Cantata, and Turtle Drum; familiar to many from school days. Also featured will be Arnold’s Organ Variations: five variations by living composers and one new variation written especially by Jonathan Whiting for this year’s Festival.

Demonstrating the exuberance of Arnold’s works and some of his finest and most popular tunes, the Festival’s Gala Concert takes place at Northampton Guildhall and will be performed by the  Northamptonshire County Youth Concert Band and Orchestra (NMPAT) who are regular guests at the Festival. The Festival will end with a short Symposium hosted by Matthew Taylor discussing all things Arnold.

HOW TO BOOK
Tickets are £10 per concert or £25 for a day ticket, available at the door or book in advance online. Students and under 18s are admitted FREE of charge.
www.malcolmarnoldfestival.com

ONLINE DAY (FREE live-stream) – SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER

FREE-to-view and presented live by Director Paul Harris, the Festival’s complimentary digital live-stream day will take place on Sunday 27 October and features performances of some of Malcolm Arnold’s greatest solo, chamber and orchestral music as well as talks, lectures and exclusive interviews.

Paul Harris says, “The day is structured around the years that have their anniversary this year; 1934, 1944, 54, 64, 74 …etc. and what Malcolm was writing and doing in those years. We are also featuring all of his wonderful songs as the central theme performed by Claire Thompson and Scott Mitchell – Malcolm is not well-known for his vocal writing and our programme will give a fascinating insight into this genre. Also a host of Arnold specialists will be contributing through their knowledge and enthusiasm to bring together another fascinating and engaging day of music making.”

Harris himself will give a talk on Malcolm Arnold at the Royal College of Music, and there are further talks by Arnold authorities including Dr. Timothy Bowers, Dimitri Scarlato, Eleanor Fox, Gus Woodward, and BBC Radio 3 broadcaster and long-time Arnold enthusiast, Martin Handley.

Amongst the assortment of Malcolm Arnold’s chamber works will be historic recordings and specially recorded performances by students from Chethams’ School and the Royal College of Music. Soloists taking part, who will also introduce their pieces, include soprano, Claire Thompson, pianists Scott Mitchell and Lynn Arnold, and oboist Ewen Millar.

Amongst those pieces featured will be Kensington Gardens for Oboe, a piece by Arnold’s fellow composer at the Royal College of Music, Ruth Gipps, known affectionally to Malcolm as ‘Widdy’. Written for Gipps’ own instrument and piano, this is an engaging short suite of three pieces named Elfin Oak, Fat Pigeon and Chestnut Trees.  Alongside Arnold’s songs from his own Kensington Gardens are his William Blake Songs, which were hailed by Gipps as “the real Malcolm”.

Both dramatic and playful in tone, the Sinfonietta No. 3, Arnold’s third “Little Symphony” completed in September 1964, extends the scope of his two earlier essays in this form and is scored for a classical chamber orchestra, demonstrating all the usual hallmarks of the composer’s inventiveness in smaller scale.

From the same year, the celebratory Water Music was commissioned by the National Trust for the opening of the Stratford Canal. In three movements, the piece was written for wind and percussion to be played on a raft moored on the River Avon, and later transcribed by the composer for full orchestra.

HOW TO VIEW
Live-stream FREE to view. Refer to the website for further information including the full programme: www.malcolmarnoldfestival.com

Published post no.2,290 – Tuesday 3 September 2024

In appreciation: Darius Milhaud

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Darius Milhaud died 50 years ago today. One of the most prolific composers of the 20th century, Milhaud’s list of works extends to several hundred published pieces for all manner of instrumental and vocal combinations, with works for the stage, concert hall, chamber music and piano all filling the list to bursting point.

More recently his music has been difficult to find, whether on concert programs or recordings – and we hope to redress the balance a little over the next month, exploring some of his works – including all 12 symphonies and five piano concertos. For now, here is a performance of one of Milhaud’s best-loved works, the jazz-inspired La Création du Monde:

Published post no.2,217 – Saturday 22 June 2024

Elgar Festival Fundraiser – ‘Keep the Music Playing’

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The Elgar Festival (27 May – 2 June) is working with a 40% funding cut
from Arts Council England

In this short film, Festival Patron Julian Lloyd Webber introduces the Fundraising Campaign:

The Festival is raising money to help deliver its 2024 iteration, due to a 40% funding cut from Arts Council England

Donations are valuable in helping to continue the legacy of one of England’s most revered composers. As the festival’s organisers say, “We believe Elgar is for everyone and our developing range of events are for people of all ages, interests, and lifestyles.”

For full information, visit The Elgar Festival website

Published post no.2,151 – Wednesday 17 April 2024

On paper – Refiner’s Fire: The Academy of Ancient Music and the Historical Performance Revolution by Richard Bratby (Elliott & Thompson)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This handsomely packaged volume, published late last year, comes billed as ‘the first full-length history of a British period instrument orchestra’. That orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music, was born just over half a century ago in a London pub not at all far from the Crown and Anchor on the Strand, where the original Academy of Ancient Music was formed in the 1720s.

What’s the book like?

Enlightening and thoroughly engaging – as are the musical performances and recordings that are discussed in its pages. Richard Bratby, one of the Academy’s ‘Hogwood Fellows’, is a compelling storyteller, fully qualified to put the events of the group’s formation in perspective with those around them.

First we have the ensemble’s formation, a helpful base illustrating the radical steps Christopher Hogwood, Decca record producer Peter Wadland and their associates were taking – all borne of enthusiasm for the music and a wish for scholarly respect and exploration.

As venues, record companies and sponsors switched on to the benefits of the ensemble’s existence a whole new movement was formed in front of their eyes. This, the ‘period instrument’ movement, gathered pace at a striking rate in the 1970s and 1980s, where concertgoers and record / CD buyers were compelled to consider accounts of Handel, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi and their contemporaries as they would have been experienced by audiences of the day.

Bratby tells of the Academy’s trailblazing cause, soon followed and challenged by rival ensembles, almost all to the good of Western musical life – and occasionally Eastern, thanks to the orchestra’s ambitious touring schedule – and the classical recording industry. Not everyone shared the enthusiasm of Hogwood and his charges, and there is a convincing inspection of the critical fallout and opposition, from Richard Taruskin in particular.

At every turn, Christopher Hogwood emerges as the character whose genial but passionate demeanour is the fulcrum on which the Academy turns, the spur behind the scholarly work with a public face. Even a BRIT award heads the Academy’s way! Wadland, too, is suitably credited for his part in the ensemble’s success, with a string of now legendary recordings detailed from the first – Overtures by Thomas Arne in 1974, to the more recent, imaginative offerings of Handel’s Brockes Passion and Dussek’s Messe Solemnelle on the ensemble’s own label. How the industry has changed in that time!

Does it all work?

At every turn. The wealth of authoritative sources gives the book real substance, and their input is judiciously managed. The ‘back office’ staff get the platform and credit they deserve, too, their valuable insight a reminder of the difficulties orchestras face from day to day. The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic is keenly felt, in what must be the first book of its kind to detail the impact of lockdown on every aspect of musical life.

The players, too, get their due credits – and there are frank and often amusing tales of life on tour and in the studio. What comes through more than anything is the love of the great music the group are performing and recording, and the desire to make these new interpretations available.

The only slight pang is the lack of a full discography, which would have helped illustrate just how hard these musicians and their colleagues worked to bring us symphonic cycles by Mozart, Beethoven and – almost – Haydn. To get that idea, however, the ensemble’s Discogs page has the vast majority of their recordings listed.

Is it recommended?

Heartily. Refiner’s Fire does what the best books on music should do – and has you scuttling for the stereo to bring the music off the page. When you do, you will realise just what an important part the Academy of Ancient Music have played – and continue to play – in how we now hear the music of the past.

Listen and Buy

To stress the points above, here is a playlist of just some of the recordings mentioned in the book:

You can explore purchase options for Refiner’s Fire at the Academy of Ancient Music website

A footnote…

Finally, a disclaimer – as the author of this review I can confirm I am (unfortunately!) not related to Christopher Hogwood. It is a question I am often asked, being also from the East of England!

Published post no.2,117 – Thursday 14 March 2024

Listening to Beethoven #225 – 32 Variations in C minor WoO80

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Oil painting of Beethoven by Isidor Neugass in the collection of Prince Lichnowsky, 1806

32 Variations in C minor WoO80 for piano (1806, Beethoven aged 35)

Dedication unknown
Duration 11’30”

Listen

by Ben Hogwood

Background and Critical Reception

1806 was proving to be an extremely productive year for Beethoven. So much so that Jan Swafford, in his biography of the composer, talks of it as a ‘minor work’, which Beethoven ‘dashed off and forgot about’. He failed even to recognise them in public when the daughter of the piano maker Streicher played them.

For Lewis Lockwood, the variations ‘belong to a group of ‘heroic’ works written in 1806’. He describes the ‘standard Baroque passacaglia theme’, and how ’every variation except the last is equally brief, making the work a parade of short, brilliant pianistic transformations in the same rigorously maintained length and form.’ Beethoven’s contemporary, Carl Czerny, was impressed, who recommended that ‘since the theme is short, this work is best performed in public for a thinking public’.

32 variations was an inordinately high number of variations, almost certainly the most any composer had used in a single piece at that time. Lockwood notes that this may have acted as a spur when Beethoven outdid himself by one more variations when writing his great Diabelli opus later in life.

Thoughts

This certainly doesn’t sound like a minor work, at any point!

Beethoven casts an imposing theme, in spite of its brevity, sharply dotted like the beginning of a baroque overture. Stabbed, repeated notes means we fly through the first variations (1-3), and Beethoven almost gestures for the listener to keep up as he proceeds on his way with incredibly fluent composition, the variations easily but indelibly linked.

The massive seven-note chords to Variation 6 show the scale on which he was thinking for the pianist, though after a flurry of notes there is a rare note of calm as C major arrives for Variation 12. The next four variations proceed in the major key, as the compelling arguments continue – before we return to the minor key and some remarkable outbursts and figurations, straining at the link with almost unbridled fury.

The whirlwind of inspiration includes passages reminiscent of the Pathétique and Waldstein sonatas, before the variations finish almost as quickly as they arrived, signing off with a cheeky pianissimo for the last two chords.

Recordings used and Spotify playlist

Cécile Ousset (Eloquence)
Rudolf Buchbinder (Teldec)
Ronald Brautigam (BIS)
Emil Gilels (EMI)
Olli Mustonen (Decca)
Angela Hewitt (Hyperion)

There are some very fine recordings of these variations, from Angela Hewitt, Mitsuko Uchida and Rudolf Buchbinder. Two, however, stand proud – the magisterial Emil Gilels, typically masterful in performance and execution, and Cécile Ousset, a performance of great character and flair as part of her wonderful collection of Beethoven variations. The work is much-loved and a great concert piece, too.

Also written in 1806 Hummel 7 Hungarian Dances

Next up 6 Ecossaises WoO83