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Malcolm X lived in difficult times - when some thought that black people were inferior to white people. But Malcolm believed that black people should stand up for their rights and he preached this belief everywhere he went. His message became popular because it was one of hope and pride. But it also became dangerous, because some people didn't agree with him. In 1965, one of these people shot and killed him. Even though his life was cut short by hatred, Malcolm X's ideas still affect people of all races. Here is his amazing story.

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Malcolm Arnold's music encompassed a variety of forms from opera and ballet through orchestral and chamber music to film scores. His most famous film score, for which he won an Oscar in 1957, is The Bridge on the River Kwai. In 1953 he was commissioned to compose Homage to the Queen, a ballet to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Arnold was knighted by the Queen in 1993 in honor of his contributions to English music. As with the other volumes in the Greenwood Bio-Bibliographies in Music series, this work includes a brief biography, discography, complete list of works and performances, and an annotated bibliography. ... Read more

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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 widerimage 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 ascholarship recipient and studiedFilm 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). ... Read more

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Compelling study of a complex, confrontational musical genius
This is an excellent chronicle of a long and tormented life. Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) was a gifted British composer who particularly made a name as symphonist and writer of film music. He left an impressive body of work, including nine symphonies, over twenty concertos, a number of very popular occasional works and countless film scores.

Arnold was most popular in Britain - as a composer and conductor - in the 1950s and 60s but he fell out of favour with the critical establishment because of a style of composing that was seen to be populist and very much against the grain of the avant garde, serialist orthodoxy. Arnold's problematic, self-destructive temperament didn't help to ingratiate him with the critics. Later diagnosed as manic depressive, he was a highly complex personality, extremely generous and confrontational at the same time. Heavy drinking exacerbated the impact of his mood swings and crippled his creative abilities.

So, it's a very mixed picture, most sensitively reconstructed by Anthony Meredith and Paul Harris, that emerges from these pages. The authors have been able to provide us with a not at all uncritical but utterly respectful picture of Arnold. In lesser hands it might easily have spilled over into an unsavoury and superficially sensationalist narrative. The research behind the book seems exemplary; it is littered with footnotes referring to conversations with very many people who knew Arnold intimately and it builds collegially on already available biographical material (including the "official" biography by Piers Burton-Page, now out of print). Beyond documenting Arnold's personal journey, the book also provides a very interesting, wider perspective on mid-to-late 20th century British musical life.

What the book does not offer is a scholarly analysis of Arnold's music. The work is invariably linked to biographic circumstances, associating the musical logic with particular personalities or events in Arnold's life. In my personal opinion this is a rather one-dimensional way of understanding the music. As a complement I would recommend to have a look at Paul Jackson's (The Life and Music of Sir Malcolm Arnold: The Brilliant and the Dark (unfortunately a rather expensive volume) which offers more substance when it comes to musical analysis. In addition there is a more music theoretical study available by Raphael Thoene (Malcolm Arnold - A Composer of Real Music. Symphonic Writing, Style and Aesthetics). So we are well catered for elsewhere when it comes to musical analysis.

I have no hesitation to recommend this book without reservation.
... Read more

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"All of my music is biographical" declared Sir Malcolm Arnold in an interview in 1991. Arnold's turbulent life has permeated his music to a greater degree than probably any other British composer, as Paul Jackson reveals in this account. Interweaving biographical details with close analyses of Arnold's major works, particularly the nine symphonies, and drawing on sketch materials never previously examined, Jackson provides insights into Arnold's compositional process, and the ideas informing works such as the John Field Fantasy and the 7th Symphony. Extensive interviews with Arnold himself as well as with his family, friends and colleagues add further perspectives on his relationships with fellow composers and musicians, publishers, critics and family. A combination of joie de vivre and periods of depression and personal tragedy, Arnold's life has mirrored his music in its combination of seemingly disparate elements that make a compelling whole. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Why is this book so damn expensive?
I am a great admirer of Arnold, and I'm always looking for new books about him, but this one (and, as far as I know, not updated since the composer's death in 2006), lists for a whopping $120! I cannot, for the life of me, understand why the author/publisher would price a specialty niche book at such an exhorbitant price. Who do they think will buy and read it? Sadly, not this reader.. ... Read more

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Time for a revised edtion from an enterprising publisher
May I briefly urge music lovers to search out this book about Malcolm Arnold. The author, Piers Burton-Page, reminds us that as a player Arnold wasBritain's finest young trumpeter. He then developed rapidly as a composer, reaching his widest audiences with many film scores (The Bridge on the River Kwai, Hobson's Choice, and Whistle down the Wind are among the favourites) and brilliant orchestral works.

Burton-Page paints a fascinating portrait of a composer who has worked in many fields, and whose complex personality gives his music a depth and range which are only hinted at in some of his more popular works.

Why is this valuable book no longer available? In late 2001, just when many concerts around the world are celebrating Arnold's 80th birthday, it seems perverse that the book is no longer in print. There must be some enterprising publisher out there who should seize the moment. Get the authoritative Piers Burton-Page to revise the book and bring it up to date. Burton-Page charts the extraordinary ups and downs of a leading musican's life with affection and honesty. Now let's have the revised edition.

The best and only biography of British composer Malcolm Arno
I am biased of course! But I spent 10 years on and off writing about the life and music of Sir Malcolm Arnold - now 75 - and it was a labour of love. He is severely ill with a form of brain damage that has impaired his memory: even so, it was wonderful how he was able to recall incidents from his earliest years in remarkable detail. He was able to help me enormously with the events of his later life too. All this started with a love of his music, and I hope this is reflected in my biography, too. What a shame it is already out of print. Come on some of you publishers out there, how about asking me for an update, and then reprinting ... Read more

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Composed in 1966, Arnold's Fantasy for Flute was commissioned by the City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for the Birmingham International Wind Competition of 1966. It is a challenging piece, but one that reveals Arnold at his best. ... Read more

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Malcolm Arnold's famous Fantasy for Horn. ... Read more

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Fantasy for Oboe Part(s) Brand: Alfred Publishing Model Number: 12-0571500323 ... Read more

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Fantasy for Trumpet Part(s) Brand: Alfred Publishing Model Number: 12-0571503225 ... Read more

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Anniversary Overture was commissioned in 1968 as a twenty-first birthday piece for Hong Kong Philharmonic Society, and is a four-minute firework display for orchestra. Within the framework of a two-four allegro giubiloso, Arnold alternates two major themes, one breezy, the other tender, developing them extensively and landing resoundingly in F major.

This new transcription brings an exuberant work to the field of symphonic wind band for the first time. ... Read more