Robert Clements repies to me:

>>(Also DSCH-inspired - but officially retired for serious health
>>reasons - is the dean of English symphonists, Sir Malcolm Arnold.
>
>Much as I love the Arnold symphonies, I still think this title belongs
>to Vaughan Williams.

Context was living composers (with makes the accolade a straight call
between between Arnold & the more traditional Maxwell Davies); although
i must admit that in an all comers choice my preference for either the
expansive vision of RVW & the dark angular shockers of Arnold alternates
regularly.

>I haven't kept tabs on the Hickox series on Chandos but I believe it's
complete.

The normally lionhearted Hickox was one of the people who went on record as
saying that Arnold 9 was unperformable; so as far as i know, it was never
added to the Chandos set.  The Penny set is continuing slowly for Naxos,
partly for release scheduling reasons; partly because Penny prefers it that
way.

Much as i like what Penny is doing with Sir Malcolm's music, its still a
small tragedy that Sir Charles Groves died before the project he helped
sell the HNH went into the studio...  few conductors apart from the
composer himself had the Arnold performing edition that Groves had; & -
of course - Groves was the first conductor to take on the challenge of
Arnold 9.  It would'ave been nice to see him given the honor of the first
commercial recording; to follow the first performance & first broadcast
recording gongs....

All the best,
Robert Clements <[log in to unmask]>
endeavour2 project <http://www.geocities.com/robtclements/endeavour2.html>