Arnold: Symphony No 2, Etc / Handley, Royal Po

Malcolm Arnold has been a central figure in British musical life for fifty years, believing that ‘to be asked by a performer whose accomplishment one admires is the greatest incentive to write music’. His Symphony No. 2, for Charles Groves and his Bournemouth Orchestra, and Concerto for Two Pianos, for Phyllis Sellick and Cyril Smith, both reflect this, and in Handley’s performances they are certainly colourful...
Performance: **** Sound: *****

-- Terry Barfoot, BBC Music Magazine