Malcolm Arnold

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Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE (21 October 1921 - 23 September 2006) was an English composer and symphonist.

Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was bracketed with Benjamin Britten and William Walton as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain. His natural melodic gift earned him a reputation as a composer of light music in works such as his sets of Welsh, English, Scottish, Irish and Cornish Dances, and his scores to the St Trinian's films and Hobson's Choice.

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Early life and education

Malcolm Arnold was born in Northampton, the youngest of five children from a prosperous Northampton family of shoemakers. As a rebellious teenager, he was attracted to the creative freedom of jazz. After seeing Louis Armstrong play in Bournemouth, he took up the trumpet at the age of 12 and 5 years later won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music (RCM).

At the RCM he studied composition with Gordon Jacob and the trumpet with Ernest Hall. In 1941 he joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) as second trumpet and became principal trumpet in 1943.

In 1941 he registered as a conscientious objector with a condition of joining the National Fire Service, but in the event he was allowed to continue in the LPO. In 1944, after his brother in the RAF had been killed, he volunteered for military service, but when the army put him in a military band he shot himself in the foot to get back to civilian life. After a season as principal trumpet with the BBC Symphony Orchestra he returned to the London Philharmonic in 1946 where he remained until 1948 to become a full-time composer.

Works

Arnold was a relatively conservative composer of tonal works, but a prolific and popular one. He acknowledged Hector Berlioz as an influence, and several commentators have drawn a comparison with Jean Sibelius. Arnold's most significant works are generally considered to be his nine symphonies. He also wrote a number of concertos, including one for guitar for Julian Bream, one for cello for Julian Lloyd Webber, one for clarinet for Benny Goodman, one for harmonica for Larry Adler, and one – enthusiastically welcomed at its premiere during the 1969 Proms – for three hands on two pianos for the husband-and-wife team of Cyril Smith and Phyllis Sellick. His sets of dances, which consist of two sets of English Dances (Opp. 27 and 33 [1]), and one set each of Scottish Dances (Op. 59), Cornish Dances (Op. 91), Irish Dances (Op. 126), and Welsh Dances (Op. 138), are in a lighter vein and also popular. One of the English Dances is used as the theme music for the British television programme What the Papers Say. Another popular short work is his Divertimento for Flute, Oboe and Clarinet (Op. 37). Arnold is also known for his relatively large number of compositions and arrangements of his own compositions for brass band.

Film

Arnold also wrote many film scores, winning an Academy Award for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), and also providing music for The Belles of St Trinian's (1954), The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) and Whistle Down the Wind (1961). He conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the recording of Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra, and conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in the Gemini Suite composed by the group's organist, Jon Lord.

Later years and death

His later years saw a decline in both health and finances. In 1978 he was treated as an in-patient for several months in the psychiatric ward at the Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London, and in 1979 he entered St Andrew's Hospital in his home town of Northampton to be treated for depression and alcoholism.

He overcame both, despite being given a year to live in the early 1980s. He lived for more than 20 more years, completing his Ninth and final symphony in 1986, just as his work was beginning to enjoy a renewal of interest. He also made one final, triumphant return to the Proms podium, although not as conductor, in 1991.

Arnold died at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich on 23 September 2006, after suffering from a chest infection. His last work, The Three Musketeers, was premiered at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford on the same day in a Northern Ballet production. The score included no new music by Arnold, but excerpts from various of his compositions were arranged by John Longstaff. The original score was compiled by Anthony Meredith.

Popularity and legacy

His works are particularly popular with youth and amateur orchestras, partly because of their playability, and also because of the accessibility of his unique style, which combines the musical elements of classical, jazz, popular and folk. He was for many years a favourite at Proms concerts and Hoffnung festivals. He was also the patron of the Rochdale Youth Orchestra until his death in September 2006.

The Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra made the first commercial recording of Arnold's Divertimento for the Pye label in July 1967 and regularly performed many of his works in the UK and abroad. Arnold also conducted the orchestra in a 1963 De Montfort Hall concert that included his own English Dances and Tam O'Shanter.

Malcolm Arnold wrote the Trevelyan Suite to mark the opening of Trevelyan College, University of Durham. His daughter was among the first intake of students.

Since the 1980s there have been frequent concerts and festivals dedicated to his music. In October of each year there is an annual Malcolm Arnold Festival in his birthplace Northampton.

Honours and awards

Works

Ballets

Orchestral

Concerti

Opera

Vocal and choral

Chamber

Instrumental

Piano

Band

Film scores (selection)

Arnold composed music for 62 feature films (plus several documentaries and TV work) including:

Selected recordings

Bibliography

TV documentaries

Obituaries and tributes

External links

Interviews