Was luxuriating in a bit of Vaughan Williams earlier this evening. Well, quite a lot of VW, actually, the 'bit' being The Sea Symphony. Oddly it's the one of the magical nine I play least, yet I always find myself wondering why I don't air it more often when I do give it a spin. This time I found myself enjoying Whitman's poetry just in itself, as I was reading it from the accompanying booklet. I tend to blow hot and cold over his verse, but this time I think I grasped why VW felt compelled to set these particular words.
Then I decided to play through the Arnold Conducts Arnold set I downloaded a little while back and, do you know, for a moment there was a genuine contender for the title of My Favourite English Composer. In general I find much to admire and enjoy in Malcolm Arnold's oeuvre as represented in the pieces involved. He's a wonderful melodist and superb technician, but before this evening I'd not that crawling of the skin that RVW regularly evokes. Then tonight I found myself utterly spellbound by the slow movement of his Concerto for 2 Pianos. In fact, it's entirely bewildering to me that the concerto isn't regularly programmed by orchestras across the world. It's wonderfully accessible and would surely become an audience favourite anywhere. Yet I don't recall seeing it as part of a programme ever.
How many treasures remain hidden. What an adventure it is seeking them out.
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