| 18 – 19 October 2025 20th Malcolm Arnold Festival Featuring all 20 of the Composer’s Concertos Director, Paul Harris Live in Northampton School for Boys, Billing Road NN1 5RT St Matthew’s Church, The Drive NN1 4RY www.malcolmarnoldfestival.com |
   John Lenehan will be playing his own World Premiere two-hand arrangement of Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for Two Pianos (3 hands). Sarah-Jane Bradley plays the Viola Concerto. Michala Petri plays the Recorder Concerto. Photos by Kaupo Kikkas (JL) Robert Piwko (SJB) PROGRAMME Saturday 18 October, 11:00 Northampton School for Boys Malcolm Arnold: Concerto for Clarinet No.1 Concerto for Piano Duet Concerto for Flute No.1 Concerto for Two Violins Gordon Jacob: Overture for Strings Sibelius: Andante Festivo LGT Orchestra Hilary Davan Wetton, Conductor Joshua Milton / Nico Varela, Pianos Maria Filippova, Flute Christian Hoddinott, Clarinet Emmanuel Webb / Elif Ece Cansever, Violins Saturday 18 October, 14:00 Northampton School for Boys Malcolm Arnold: Concerto for Guitar Concerto for Flute No.2 Concerto for Recorder Concerto for Viola Concerto for Clarinet No.2 London Choral Sinfonia Michael Waldron, Conductor Hugh Millington, Guitar Michala Petri, Recorder Daisy Noton, Flute Sarah-Jane Bradley, Viola Poppy Beddoe, Clarinet Saturday 18 October, 16:00 Northampton School for Boys Interview with Michala Petri Saturday 18 October, 19:30 St Matthew’s Church NN1 4RY GALA CONCERT Malcolm Arnold: Concerto for Trumpet Concerto for Organ Grand Concerto Gastronomique Concerto for Harmonica Concerto for Piano – (World Premiere two-hand arrangement by John Lenehan of Concerto for Two Pianos (3 hands) and Orchestra Equilibrium Symphony Orchestra Mattea Leow, Conductor Shima Kobayashi, Harmonica John Lenehan, Piano Nick Budd, Trumpet Thomas Moore, Organ Sunday 19 October, 11:00 Northampton School for Boys Malcolm Arnold: Concerto for Oboe Concerto for Saxophone Serenade for Guitar Concerto for Horn, No.2 William Walton: ‘Henry V’ – Two Pieces for Strings Ruth Gipps: Cringlemire Garden Malcolm Williamson: Lento for Strings Bedford Sinfonia Ian Smith, Conductor Daniel Fergie, Oboe Junyu Zhou, Saxophone Gonçalo Maia Caetano, Guitar Ben Goldscheider, Horn Sunday 19 October, 14:30 Northampton School for Boys Malcolm Arnold: Concerto for Horn, No.1 Symphonic Study ‘Machines’ Four Scottish Dances Burlesque for Horn Four English Dances, Set 1 Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra Conductors, Jonathan Burnett and Ben Copeman Finnian Smith, Horn CELEBRATING ONE OF ENGLAND’S MOST VERSATILE AND RESOURCEFUL COMPOSERS Demonstrating why Sir Malcolm Arnold is one of the most versatile and resourceful composers; ’20 for 20’ is the theme celebrating the 20th Malcolm Arnold Festival with performances of all 20 of the composer’s Concertos for solo instruments taking place in Northampton, the town of his birth, over the course of the weekend 18-19 October 2025. https://www.malcolmarnoldfestival.com/upcoming-festival Directed by Paul Harris, the Malcolm Arnold Festival is an annual programme of events celebrating one of England’s most prolific, colourful and charismatic composers – Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006), probably best known for his internationally famous film scores, symphonic showpieces, and a canon of powerfully emotive semi-autobiographical symphonies. Presenting the composer’s works in an accessible and enriching format, the Malcom Arnold Festival provides a platform for both professional and student musicians to perform the composer’s works, this year showcasing all 20 of the composer’s Concertos which feature a solo instrument – in celebration of the 20th Festival. INVENTIVENESS ON A SMALLER SCALE – MALCOLM ARNOLD’S CONCERTOS Perhaps less well-known are Malcolm Arnold’s Concertos, written throughout his long career and characteristic of the composer’s versatility in writing for a wide range of instruments; as such, they demonstrate all the hallmarks of the composer’s inventiveness in smaller scale. Malcolm Arnold’s scoring for the concerto tends to favour the reduced forces of chamber orchestra or string orchestra and, according to Arnold authority Timothy Bowers; “Within an Arnold Concerto we find a lighter and more intimate world of expression. The influence of Sibelius in particular was embedded in Arnold’s concept of symphony form and scale”, explains Bowers. “He was also attracted to the sound world of Béla Bartók, particularly his ‘night music’.” As a composition student of Gordon Jacob at the Royal College of Music and in honing his craft as Principal Trumpet amongst the brass elite of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Malcolm Arnold immersed himself in the workings of the orchestra and went on to become one of England’s most skilled and versatile composers. “Arnold was far more productive in this field than most of his contemporaries”, says Timothy Bowers, “and this suggests that the concerto was especially important to him as a form. The best of his concertos are amongst the finest works that Arnold created, and as a body of work they represent a highly personal approach to the genre. The experience of listening and studying the series as a whole is immensely rewarding.” Of the twenty ‘Concertos’ with opus numbers, seventeen are for instrumental soloist, of which three are duo-concertos, the majority lasting around fifteen minutes. The earliest were written for friends and colleagues, which lead to commissions from world-renown soloists including Denis Brain (horn), Julian Bream (guitar), Benny Goodman (clarinet), Julian Lloyd Webber (cello), and Michala Petri (recorder) who is also appearing at the Festival, and hence those written for more unusual solo instruments, such as harmonica, organ, and piano duo. Some are considered masterpieces of the genre, such as the Flute Concerto no.2, and the Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra. HEAR ALL 20 CONCERTOS OVER A WEEKEND OF LIVE MUSIC Festival Director Paul Harris is a composer and clarinettist as well as one of the UK’s leading educationalists and authors. As Malcolm Arnold’s co-biographer, he has worked tirelessly, as Founder-Director of the Malcolm Arnold Festival, to present the composer’s genre in an accessible and exciting format and to provide a platform for both professional and student musicians to perform the composer’s works. “We’re delighted to be holding the Festival at the very prestigious Cripps Hall which is part of Northampton School for Boys – the very school the young Malcolm Arnold attended!”, says Paul Harris. “For Saturday’s evening concert we transfer to St Matthew’s Church which will provide the opportunity to hear Malcolm’s Organ Concerto together with a rare performance of the ‘Grand Concerto Gastronomique’ for Waiter, Eater and Food; a suite of six short orchestral pieces, in characteristic Arnold style.” ACCLAIMED REGIONAL ORCHESTRAS AND YOUTH ENSEMBLES Taking part this year are the LGT Orchestra – an award-winning string ensemble featuring talented young soloists from over 20 nations; Equilibrium Symphony Orchestra – who’s young musicians already have professional solo experience, as well as regional orchestras and youth ensembles that include Bedford Sinfonia, Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the London Choral Sinfonia. GALA CONCERT, GUEST SOLOISTS AND A WORLD PREMIERE Saturday evening’s Gala Concert provides the opportunity to hear Malcolm Arnold’s Concertos for Trumpet, Harmonica, and Organ, with soloists Nick Budd, Shima Kobayashi and Thomas Moore, while pianist John Lenehan will perform a World Premiere of his own two-hand arrangement of the Concerto for Two Pianos (3 hands) and Orchestra. The Festival will be welcoming a plethora of guest soloists including: Joshua Milton and Nico Varela, (piano); Poppy Beddoe and Christian Hoddinott, (clarinet); Emmanuel Webb and Elif Ece Cansever, (violin); Hugh Millington and Gonçalo Maia Caetano, (guitar); Michala Petri, (recorder); Maria Filippova and Daisy Noton, (flute); Sarah-Jane Bradley, (viola); Daniel Fergie, (oboe); Junyu Zhou, (saxophone), and Ben Goldscheider and Finnian Smith, (horn). Conductors include Hilary Davan Wetton, Mattea Leow, Ian Smith, Jonathan Burnett and Ben Copeman. The Festival programme will include complementary works by one of Arnold’s major influences, Jean Sibelius, and fellow composers William Walton, Ruth Gipps, and Malcolm Williamson. HOW TO BOOK Day Ticket – allows entry to either Saturday or Sunday’s concerts, priced £15. Weekend Ticket – allows entry to both days, priced at £25. Under 18s/Students, FREE. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/malcolmarnoldfestival/1777214 Gala Concert – priced separately at £10. Under 18s/Students, FREE. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/malcolmarnoldfestival/1777267 |
