Archibald Joyce was known as ‘The English Waltz King’. The composer of delectable vignettes directed his own dance band which, depending on the size of the venue, sometimes numbered a hundred. Convinced that the Viennese waltz was not to British tastes he wrote smoother examples that included Dreaming, his most famous work, which sold over a million copies, and is a perfect example of the ‘hesitation’ waltz. His evocative music also included theatrical numbers, dramatic suites and the ‘concert valse’, designed for the silver screen.

On its first appearance on Marco Polo, Gramophone wrote that ‘There is an irresistible innocence, grace and charm to the music that clearly captivated Andrew Penny and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and which they in turn succeed in capturing quite magically for the listener.’

8555192 contains Vol. 12, the music of Trevor Duncan: ‘They [Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra] sound relaxed, playing with dapper phrasing and timing under the direction of Andrew Penny. The production by Murray Khouri and Hubert Geschwandtner is satisfyingly full and deep...This collection of Duncan’s music is too good to pass up’ (MusicWeb International).

Since 1992, conductor Andrew Penny has made over 50 recordings for the Naxos and Marco Polo labels. His complete cycle of Arnold’s nine symphonies was produced in time for the composer’s 80th birthday in October 2001 and became BBC Music Magazine’s top recommendation. The set has now been recently reissued on Naxos 8506041: ‘Andrew Penny is a wonderful conductor, with a real feel for Arnold’s music and well up to the technical demands in conducting them’ (The British Music Society).