Arnold wrote his Recorder Concerto for Michala Petri, who has commissioned or had written for her many new recorder works (and for whom Arnold wrote his unaccompanied Fantasy for descant recorder, Op. 127, in 1986). The soloist is called upon to use the soprano recorder in the outer movements of this three-movement concerto, and a sopranino in the slow second movement. Arnold has described the sparkling, tuneful opening Allegro as "in sonata form, with very special bits for Michala." Plucked strings accompany a long-spun melody in the second-movement Lento, in which the piercing tone of the sopranino recorder is used to expressive effect. The rollicking finale, Vivace, is a sort of a jig, with catchy melodies and plenty of arpeggios and other opportunities for virtuoso display by the soloist. ~ Chris Morrison, Rovi
