Mark Shanks <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>...  The best of these final works seems not so much to "sum up" a
>composer's life as to reflect upon it and also look "forward" to ....
>what? The unanswerable question, a matter of faith for many but the music
>that resonates most deeply with me hasn't *got* a specific answer - each
>one creates a unique atmosphere conducive to meditation on last things.
>Some of those that I find especially rewarding:
>
>Arnold: Symphony #9 (OK, I'm jumping the gun...)

I'm pretty sure the gun has already fired; & the pack is over the hill....

MA has made no secret of the fact that he selfconsciously wrote his 9th as
a last symphony; & he publically retired from all composition before the
work's (admittedly belated) first performance...  barring a surprising
turnaround in the composer's health, i doubt that this retirement will
be Melbaed.  Also: the small handful of works written between MA9 & the
official retirement are all fairly minor; so it's not unfair to look at
this piece as MA climbing his personal musical mountain one last time...
a thought which gives the conception, development & conclusion of the
symphony's extraordinary Lento finale a particularly chilling beauty....

All the best,

Robert Clements <[log in to unmask]>
<http://www.ausnet.net.au/~clemensr/welcome.htm>