(Leader, J. Mouland Begbde )
Conducted by Alexander Gibson
Malcolm Arnold's second symphony was performed for the first time at Bournemouth earlier this year. I feel sure that the composer would agree that this time of day is as good as any for its performance, for he has himself drawn attention to its gay and light-hearted themes. This applies especially to the last movement, whose mam tune has a swaggering and comic lilt that will keep us whistling for the rest of the afternoon. There is, none the less, a sombre and elegiac third movement that is equally impressive, while the whole work reveals that happy certainty of orchestration which is one of Arnold's supreme gifts. Ernest Bradbury