Rarefied, simplified, and stripped of all pride and pretensions, Malcolm Arnold's Symphony No. 9 is the pinnacle of his output and one of the greatest Ninth symphonies of the twentieth century. Deep, hard, cold, tender and compassionate, beautifully scored, exquisitely lyrical, overwhelmingly moving, and profoundly tragic, Arnold's Ninth has the gravity, the severity, and the certainty of life face to face with death. And yet in the austerity of his language, Arnold finds lightness and lucidity and a breathtaking clarity of ...
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Rarefied, simplified, and stripped of all pride and pretensions, Malcolm Arnold's Symphony No. 9 is the pinnacle of his output and one of the greatest Ninth symphonies of the twentieth century. Deep, hard, cold, tender and compassionate, beautifully scored, exquisitely lyrical, overwhelmingly moving, and profoundly tragic, Arnold's Ninth has the gravity, the severity, and the certainty of life face to face with death. And yet in the austerity of his language, Arnold finds lightness and lucidity and a breathtaking clarity of thought. One can only admire his unflinching honesty.Vernon Handley and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra give the work their all and then some. Indeed, one wouldn't be surprised to learn that some players spent sleepless nights for a long time afterwards. The dedication and conviction of their playing passes over to compulsion and one hopes for their sanity. Not that one has that worry for Handley's sanity. Serious and staid, Handley stays the course through the rocks and...
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