MALCOLM ARNOLD:
Concerto for 2 Pianos 3 Hands / Concerto for Piano Duet / Fantasy on a Theme of John Field, Op. 116 /Beckus the Dandipratt, Op. 5

Phillip Dyson, piano Kevin Sargent, piano / Ulster Orchestra/Esa Heikkila

Naxos British Piano Concertos 8.570531 [TT: 67 mins]

This is a useful budget collection of music for piano with orchestra (two and three & four hands) to complement those previously issued and reviewed comprehensively, and probably definitively, by Rob Barnett.

The Concerto for Two Pianos (Three Hands) arose from the heroic determination of Cyril Smith to persist with his career after having lost the use of his left hand in 1956 after having a stroke brought about by pressure problems in an aircraft on a visit to the USSR. He continued to perform in partnership with his wife Phyllis Sellick.

I was most glad to make the acquaintance of the extended John Field Fantasy (the longest of the works gathered here at c.24 mins) played by Philip Dyson, with whom it was particularly associated.

Best known is the high spirited early overture Beckus the Dandipratt, which has held a tenuous place in the repertoire.

Peter Grahame Woolf

See also Malcolm Arnold Edition http://www.musicalpointers.co.uk/reviews/cddvd/ARNOLDEDITION.htm