On top of that, the current age we live in works against composers of Arnold's era. Not "old" enough to be cultural icons, not "new" enough to be edgy and modern and 'relevant'. Arnold is not alone in suffering this fate - I think most British composers born after 1920 (except probably Britten) to 1960 now suffer this fate.
Just before writing this post I have submitted my review of the new Toccata disc of the 9th Symphony. I think it is a masterpiece but consider this; in Arnold's Centenary year, as far as I know its the first CD of a major Arnold work and also its 20 years(!) since the last recording of it. The fact that a work of this stature has yet to be performed at the Proms (it was completed 35 years ago) says it all......
Truth to tell, I’ve dithered for days before deciding, probably against my better judgment, to post this. Even allowing for Covid-19 getting in the way, the Malcolm Arnold centenary celebrations seem to be (or to have been) somewhat muted, don’t you think?
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