Sonata No 2 for Violin and Piano Op 43 | Malcolm Arnold (Roger Coull & Lynn Arnold)

Sonata No 2 for Violin and Piano Op 43
Of particular interest is the Second Violin Sonata, which showed Malcolm exploring the virtues of atonality. Malcolm had studied serialism carefully and sometimes voiced admiration for Webern and various English followers of the Darmstadt school, particularly Humphrey Searle and Elizabeth Lutyens. In the first of the four thematically linked sections of this sonata, the violin sings a meandering melody of Mahlerian intensity, while the piano grumpily refuses to play along, casting constant doubt on the tonality. Harmonic ambiguities persist through both the violent scherzo and the following wistful waltz, only finally to be resolved in the last bars of the work - Excerpt from Malcolm Arnold: Rogue Genius
Allegretto - Vivace - Andantino quasi allegretto - Adagio molto
Violin - Roger Coull
Piano - Lynn Arnold
Streamed as part of the 2020 International Malcolm Arnold Online Festival