Concerto (for flute and strings) #1 Op45

Concerto For Flute and Strings Opus 45 No. 1
Arranged by Malcolm Arnold for Flute and Piano
This arrangement includes a flute part and piano arrangement of the string part.

Composed in 1954, nearly twenty years before the Flute Concerto No. 2, the Concerto for Flute and Strings bears the hallmarks of a younger, brasher style. The dissonances are sardonic rather than melancholy, sarcastic rather than despairing, and although the first movement is tinged with the melancholy of G Minor, the clear optimism of G major lends vigour to the ebullient rhythms of the finale. Here there is no hard-won battle for the final triumph of a single major chord; indeed, there is scarcely a battle at all, even during the whirlwind flurry of the G minor passage-work in the first movement. This Allegro energico is typical of Arnold's preoccupations during these years; biting dissonances are emphasised by sharply pointed rhythms, anxious ostinato figures in the orchestra bring disquiet to long-breathed melodies in the solo line and the solo line itself encompasses lyrical cantilena, brittle staccato arpeggios and brilliant running figures, revealing the varied qualities of the instrument in the hands of a virtuoso.

AVAILABLE RECORDINGS: JAMES GALWAY PLAYS THE MUSIC OF MALCOLM ARNOLD