Arnold: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4. Andrew Penny, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Naxos 8.553739.Arnold: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4. Andrew Penny Andrew Penny is the musical director and conductor of the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra. He has held this position since 1982, and as of 2007 he is in his 25th year of service. , National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra is the concert music orchestra of Radio Telefís Éireann. Considered one of Europe's major symphonies it is the primary symphony orchestra of Dublin and, true to its name, the leading orchestra of the Republic of Ireland. . Naxos 8.553739. Born in 1921, Sir Malcolm Arnold continued to write symphonic music until 1990, when he abruptly stopped, saying he "had done enough." All the while a stubborn Romanticist, Arnold wrote music that steadfastly employed melodies and rhythm at a time when Modernists had shut the door on such anachronisms. I wrote about this same coupling a year earlier, under Vernon Handley on the Conifer conifer (kŏn`ĭfûr) [Lat.,=cone-bearing], tree or shrub of the order Coniferales, e.g., the pine, monkey-puzzle tree, cypress, and sequoia. Most conifers bear cones and most are evergreens, though a few, such as the larch, are deciduous. label. Now the two symphonies return on a budget-priced disc that is even more inviting. The Third Symphony (1957) is the less consequential of the two. It is pleasant enough, don't get me wrong, but not particularly memorable. The Fourth Symphony (1960), however, will remain in memory, especially for its opening movement, with its overlays of South and Central American percussion tunes. The Vivace ma non troppo that follows also uses a jazzy jazz·y adj. jazz·i·er, jazz·i·est 1. Resembling jazz in form or nature; rhythmical. 2. Slang Showy; flashy: a jazzy car. tune, but slightly more formally structured. The Andantino an·dan·ti·no Music adv. & adj. In a tempo variously construed as slightly faster or slower than andante. Used chiefly as a direction. n. pl. an·dan·ti·nos An andantino passage or movement. is the calm before the storm, the end of the finale bursting out in a most provocative and, as the composer said, "completely crazy" manner. The Naxos sound is clear and well defined, easily rivaling the more expensive Conifer disc. Our own JMC JMC Joint Military Commission JMC Jefferson Medical College JMC Jax Money Crew (computer gaming) JMC Joint Munitions Command (US Army; Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island IL) JMC James Madison College pointed out in No. 69 the sense and value of purchasing five-dollar Naxos issues, and I certainly concur with him in principle. However, I would add that not all Naxos recordings sound as good as this one, for on the same day I listened to the Arnold I also listened to a recording of the Mozart Horn Concertos (Naxos 8.553592) that I found stodgy stodg·y adj. stodg·i·er, stodg·i·est 1. a. Dull, unimaginative, and commonplace. b. Prim or pompous; stuffy: in performance and dark and murky in sound. Listening before you buy is still the best way to acquire what you are most likely to want to live with; trusted reviews and the recommendations of friends are others. Buying indiscriminately, even in so fine a label as Naxos, may cause too many, if occasional, disappointments. No letdown in these Arnold symphonies, though. I applaud them strongly. |
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