You may well recognise
the line-up here from EMI Studio CDM 7 63491 2 – the transfers
are unchanged for this British Composers edition of some
seminal concerto performances, none of which is led by the composer
himself.
The quintet of soloists
pretty much speaks for itself – Richard Adeney, so much the
prieux chevalier of Arnold’s flute concertos, Janet Hilton
(not Jane – a typo is at work on the jewel case), Alan Civil,
Gordon Hunt and John Wallace.
Let’s take Hilton’s
First Clarinet Concerto first, a work that has always impressed
me more than the somewhat forced Second. Hilton plays this with
considerable dexterity, tonal allure and a ripe sense of unease
– note her exploration of the tension of the central movement
and the florid giocoso flourish of her finale. She and Del Mar
make something big out of it but London Musici and Mark Stephenson
back Michael Collins on Conifer CDCF172 in a reading altogether
more lithe and determined. Fortunately the concerto is big enough
to withstand both approaches.
Whereas the First
Clarinet Concerto was written for Frederick Thurston, then acknowledged
as one of the two leading British players – the other was Reginald
Kell – the Oboe Concerto was perhaps inevitably destined for
Leon Goossens. Its brand of sinuous lyricism seldom palls in
a good performance – and Gordon Hunt’s is a very good performance.
Even the fresh air jaunt is admirable here, the vivace
central movement blisteringly fast.
A close colleague
of the composer’s, Richard Adeney makes the most appropriate
soloist for both flute concertos. The First was dedicated to
him and with Ronald Thomas now at the helm of the Bournemouth
Sinfonietta he plays with memorable control and eloquence. On
CDCF172 we find that Karen Jones, rather like Michael Collins,
pushes tempi forward decisively offering a more tensile view
of the dissonances. That’s also the case with the opening movement
of the Second Flute Concerto – where Jones can be found on Conifer
VDCF 228; the coupling of the Second Clarinet Concerto is not
replicated here. The Second receives a tremendously exciting
reading, notwithstanding the fact that others are quicker in
strict tempo terms. The playing explores the considerable vein
of gravity that runs through the work.
The Horn Concerto
was written for Dennis Brain and is here in the hands of Alan
Civil. We can contrast the Civil-Del Mar performance with one
given in 1969 with Civil with the composer conducting, a 75th
Birthday release on BBC Radio Classics 1 565691817 from the
mid-1990s. This makes a very different case for the work – and
it’s Civil’s superb poise that ensures that both approaches
sound plausible. Arnold knocks off a minute from Del Mar in
the central movement rather in the way that the Mark Stephenson
recordings are consistently quicker than these Del Mar-Thomas
readings.
Finally there’s
the Trumpet Concerto – Arnold’s own instrument of course – with
John Wallace. It’s the slightest of the six concertos in this
set. Its call to arms is tigerish and full of vigour and its
finale assertive and demanding.
This is a fine collection.
Treat it either as a stand-alone conspectus or as an adjunct
to those big Decca Arnold Edition boxes. Either way no disappointment
will ensue.
Jonathan Woolf
see also Review
by Rob Barnett
Janet Hilton
(clarinet) 
