Arnold: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4
This is the strongest entry so far in Naxos's Malcolm Arnold cycle. The orchestra, for one, is securely on top of and inside these deceptively difficult scores, yielding little to their Bournesmith (Conifer) and London (Chandos) counterparts, albeit less well recorded. Andrew Penny elicits well-oiled, judiciously balanced section work that heightens Arnold's unabashed melodic appeal and orchestral wizardry. Listeners coming to this composer for the first time await a delicious bargain.--Jed Distler