Arnold: Concerto for 2 Pianos 3 Hands / Concerto for Piano Duet
4/30/2008, 8 Tracks, 1:06:34
Featuring
Esa Heikkilä
Phillip Dyson
Kevin Sargent
Ulster Orchestra
Malcolm Arnold
Did you know?
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Composer's Artistic Vision
All of Malcolm Arnold's eighteen concertos were written for friends and demonstrate his exemplary understanding of the soloist's capabilities.
Composer Biography
Sir Malcolm Arnold, the composer, was principal trumpet in the London Philharmonic Orchestra with a punishing schedule of wartime concerts, which tested his fragile psychological state.
Performer Biography
Phillip Dyson, one of the pianists on this album, gave the Irish premiere of Arnold's Fantasy on a theme of John Field, which the composer praised as uncannily sympathetic to his intentions.
Composition History
The Concerto for Two Pianos (Three Hands) was a surprising Proms commission for Malcolm Arnold, given the BBC's prevailing taste for avant-garde music over his tonality and conservatism.
Composer Biography
Malcolm Arnold's parents met playing piano duets, and his mother became a pianist and teacher of considerable distinction.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Malcolm Arnold declared that writing his Overture Beckus the Dandipratt was a form of therapy that saved his life during a period of depression.
Performer Biography
Kevin Sargent, the other pianist on this album, is best known as a composer for film and television, having been nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for his original score for a BBC film.
