MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Arnold - Symphonies Nos 7 & 8

"There are ear-catching melodies in these two symphonies from the 1970's, given superb first recordings by the Royal Philharmonic under Vernon Handley as part of Conifer's Arnold series... Mr. Arnold's long-established virtuosity as a writer for brass is shown not in bright fanfares but in high, stabbing sonorities reminiscent of Prokofiev's Parisian style... There is something endlessly mesmerizing in Mr. Arnold's ambiguous tone, his blend of brilliance and bleakness." New York Times