Arnold: Concerto for Two Pianos (Three Hands); Concerto for Piano Duet [CD]

Sir Malcolm Arnold was not an emotionally stable man and this is apparent from much of his work. His musical aesthetic was obviously influenced by his character. Passages of diatonic lyricism may be disturbed by dissonant decorative writing, for example, or a lovely reverie may be rudely interrupted by pounding atonal chords. The "Fantasy on a Theme of John Field" for Piano and Orchestra included on this disc is particularly confused in mood and I admit to finding it a problematic work for that reason. I have no problem at all with the quality of the music itself. It's enormously imaginative, tuneful and colourful but the way in which the listener is wrenched from one mood to another makes for an unsettling listen. Perhaps the most extreme example comes at 16 mins 8 secs when you're likely to jump out of your skin! However, the piece does end with an emotionally unambiguous major key melody in the tradition of Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.

You will spot other, though less extreme, examples illustrating this confusing aesthetic in the other pieces on this disc. It's almost as if Arnold was born out of his time. As is the case with some of Prokofiev's music, you have the impression that he was really a Romantic who felt obliged to adopt, at least some of the time, a modern style in order to be taken seriously. The resulting music can be a little self-conscious and unconvincing.

Yet the quality of the musical thought is not in question. Arnold was never short of a striking musical idea and this disc is full of them. The Concerto for Three Hands on Two Pianos, written for the English duo of Cyril Smith and Phyllis Sellick, caused a sensation when it was premiered at the Proms in 1969. It's easy to see why. All three movements are enormously tuneful. The slow movement's melody is exquisite and the finale includes a rumba which is guaranteed to impress the most prejudiced teenager. (I used to teach Music in schools and this movement would always bring the house down!)

The Concerto for Piano Duet and Strings is, perhaps, the finest piece on this disc though certainly not the most commercial. The first movement is a well argued allegro built on a march tune. Then comes a fine Passacaglia, the theme of which is an easily assimilated chromatic descending sequential pattern. There is plenty of variety in this music but the piece is well sustained and satisfying. The finale has a nervous main theme and two other tunes, the second of which is one of those typical bitter-sweet melodies typical of the composer.

The disc also includes Arnold's rumbustious Overture "Beckus the Dandipratt", his first major recorded work and a popular success though some darker emotions are evoked along the way.

All the music here is beautifully recorded and played. The conducting is particularly fine and the Ulster Orchestra plays superbly. Arnold himself thought that Dyson played the "Fantasy" better than anyone. I can confidently recommend this disc but, as I say, you'll need to hold on to your hat during the "Fantasy"!

The three concertino works on offer here are a pretty good place to start when exploring Arnold's concerto works. Come to think of it; they represent three of his more individualistic concertino works whereas as many of the others sound rather too written to order for my ears.

The Concerto for Three Hands was written to order but Arnold had a sub text: his notes to the programme for its premiere made it clear that he was blowing a raspberry at the avant garde of the time and the BBC, who were intent on commission so many such works. The three movements represent three sides of his character with an grand opening, sentimental slow movement and a deliberately provocative rumba finale. You could argue that Dyson and Sargent pick their way rather too carefully through the populist finale but the other movements are given their due weight. They imitate honky tonk piano playing in a way that the original dedicatees of the work didn't in their own exhuverant performances. The percussion section of the Ulster Orchestra really make the music swing in the finale.

The Concerto for Piano Duet was intended to be a rather weightier affair with some intimations of Prokofiev like leaps in the first movement. Interesting to think that Prokofiev died around the same time with an incomplete concerto for two pianos and strings at his table. I wonder how similar it might have sounded. Being a relatively early work it has less evidence of mood swings and has a hint of Brahms mixed with neo baroque Martinu in the weighting of the accompanying strings.

The Fantasy on a Theme by John Field doesn't even get mentioned on the CD front sleeve cover at all but is without doubt the most powerful work of the three here. It is also the longest. Essentially it is a set of variations on a theme and I think that form suited Arnold very well - it's a pity he didn't use it more often. Some have commented on the apparent trauma and turmoil, reflecting the same bitterness found in his Seventh Symphony, written around the same time.

Arnold chose a theme from Irish composer John Field(himself a tortured heavy drinker too); Arnold was living in Ireland at the time. It is true that his personal life and mental state were in a very bad way but that wasn't new for him. What is new in these two works is the greater harmonic daring and ambivalence towards tonality. The Symphony undoubtedly does meet his demons head on but here in the Fantasy we have a series of character pieces and the romantic background of the original theme drifts in and out of the work. This jars with the more dissonant, rhythmically more pungent and populist elements. At around that time; mid 1970s; Alfred Schnittke was writing in a very similar way but few suggest that his work reflects any personal mental disintegration.

Whether you take the view that this is a work dealing with personal demons or not it is a very impressive achievement. Its grand romantic conclusion is a fitting tribute to John Field. The variation form allows Arnold to indulge in all his characterstic stylistic elements and is, for me, his finest concertante work. Philip Dyson has made this a specialty work of his and with fine Naxos recording, orchestra and conductor fully tuned into Arnold's work, these performances will take some beating.

Highly recommended.