Scott Mitchell, a regular and well-liked former at the Malcolm Arnold Festival, recorded a new CD of the complete Arnold piano music. The Arnold piano music is just the right length to nicely fill a CD – there is a total of 78 minutes’ worth of music here.
Malcolm Arnold – The Complete Piano Works
Scott Mitchell – piano
1 Allegro in E minor (1937)
2-4 Three Piano Pieces (1937) – Prelude · Air · Gigue
5 Serenade (1937)
6 Day Dreams (1938)
7 The Dream City (1938)
8-9 Two Piano Pieces (1941) – Allegro · Quickly
10-12 Sonata for Piano (1942) – Allegro ma non troppo · Andante con moto · Alla marcia
13-15 Three Piano Pieces (1943) – Prelude · Romance · Lament
16-26 Variations on a Ukrainian Folk Song, Op.9 (1944) – Theme · Variations I to X
27 Prelude (1945)
28-29 Two Bagatelles Op.18 (1947) – Allegretto · Moderato ma non allegro
30-35 Children’s Suite Op.16 (1947) – Prelude · Carol · Shepherd’s lament · Trumpet tune · Blue tune · Folk song
36-43 Eight Children’s Pieces, Op.36 (1952) – Tired bagpipes · Two Sad Hands · Across the Plains · Strolling Tune · Dancing Tune · Giants · The Duke goes a-hunting · The Buccaneer
44 Flamenco (1952)
45 Theme for Player’s (1965)
46-48 Three Fantasies Op.129 (1986) – Lento el mesto · Vivace · Andante con moto
Please order it from here (P&P rates are UK only)
We don’t think of Malcolm Arnold as a piano composer, and these are mostly short pieces written between the ages of 16 and 26. They are very accessible and melodic, sometimes dreamy and sometimes humorous. The more substantial pieces are the Piano Sonata and the Variations on a Ukrainian Folk Song.
You must be logged in to post a comment.