A new release of horn concertos features works by British composers Malcolm Arnold and Ruth Gipps. It also celebrates the multiple centenaries of Malcolm Arnold, Ruth Gipps and Dennis Brain who was the dedicatee of the Arnold concerto. All three were born in 1921.
Both Arnold and Gipps were writing at a time when the grain of musical fashion was going against them. Boulez, Nono and Stockhausen were the intellectual fashion of the time producing music which was much more experimental, serialist and philosophical in its makeup.
In contrast to this, Arnold and Gipps were much more concerned with the listener, the stark reality being that the majority of the public could not love or appreciate music they did not understand. Alongside these two works is another horn concerto by the neoromantic 21st century composer Christoph Schönberger.
This recording sheds fresh light on works that are in dire need of more performances, as well as highlighting the wonderful potential of the horn as a solo instrument for the 21st century.
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006): Horn Concerto No. 2 Op. 58
Christoph Schönberger (b1961): Horn Concerto in F
Ruth Gipps (1921-1999): Horn Concerto Op. 58
Ben Goldscheider horn
Philharmonia Orchestra
Lee Reynolds conductor
Catalogue no: WHR068
Bar code: 5060742690117
Release date: 18 March 2022
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