Malcolm Arnold
A Composer of Real Music : Symphonic Writing, Style and Aethetics
Description:... Arnold's extremely demanding oeuvre, in which he combines orchestral brilliance with his sense of syntactic compositional unity, easily overcomes the prejudicial barriers of serious and light music. Perhaps Arnold's life is portrayed in his works like no other British composer's. Arnold's music is full of energy, but can turn lightness into the deepest melancholy; its musical intensity makes it almost impossible not to be touched by it. His compositions underline the charisma of his personality. Author Raphael Thöne has analysed in depth the symphonic music of Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006), drawing conclusions from available, as well as newly accessible, sources and created a new wider image of this great British composer. He reveals Arnold's composition aesthetics and identifies possible influences (such as Mahler and Sibelius) by providing clear music-theory-orientated evidence. For the first time, Arnold's oeuvre is here scientifically categorised within the British contemporary classical music-movement of the 20th and 21st centuries. Raphael D. Thöne (* 1980) obtained a degree in Composition (Musikhochschule Düsseldorf, Germany) and Music Theory (Folkwang Hochschule Essen, Germany) and was a scholarship recipient and studied Film Scoring and Composition at the Berklee College of Music, Boston (USA). He also received a PhD in Musicology at the University of Music and Performing Arts and the University of Vienna, Austria, writing his PhD thesis on Sir Malcolm's symphonic music. As an active composer, orchestrator and pianist, Thoene received commissions for the Orchesterakademie NRW, the International Contemporary Music Festival Ensemblia in 2005 and the Niederrheinischer Musikherbst in 2006. He orchestrates film and theatre music, is the author of the musical "Culture," and co-author of the chamber-opera "Der Herr Gevater" (staged in Saarbrücken, Düsseldorf and Munich).
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