Best of British - Joybox

Best of British - Joybox

John McCabe's BBC Prom commission for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in July 2013 is featured on BBC Music Magazine's cover CD for the October 2016 issue. The CD is entitled Best of British - Modern masterworks commissioned by Radio 3, and the CD also contains works by Malcolm Arnold, Judith Weir and Gary Carpenter among others. Joybox, the premiere of which was conducted by Juanjo Mena, is described by Terry Blair, in the accompanying CD leaflet as 'probably the only piece of classical music ever to be inspired by the cacaphony of bleeps and noises made by slot machines' and he writes also of the 'spirit of anarchic playfulness' which animates the work. (The latter remark could also apply to Malcolm Arnold's brilliant Scottish Dances, which also feature on the CD.)

See earlier news item on Joybox for further details.