The Symphony No. 9, Op. 128 by Malcolm Arnold was finished in 1986. It is in four movements:
The symphony is scored for two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, two percussionists, harp and strings.
The symphony is dedicated to Anthony Day, who looked after Malcolm Arnold from 1984 to 2006.
It was first performed in 1988 in a private run-through by the now defunct Orchestra of the National Centre for Orchestral Studies conducted by Charles Groves in Greenwich.
The first professional and public performance was given on Monday 20 January 1992 by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester also conducted by Charles Groves.
The last movement is as long as the previous three together, uses a theme similar to the last movement of Mahler's Ninth Symphony, and is very sparsely scored and bleak.