Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music for brass band and wind band. His style is tonal and rejoices in lively rhythms, brilliant orchestration, and an unabashed tunefulness. He wrote extensively for the theatre, with five ballets specially commissioned by the Royal Ballet, as well as two operas and a musical. He also produced scores for more than a hundred films, among these ''

The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the novel ''The Bridge over the River Kwai'', written by Pierre Boulle. Boulle's novel and the film's screenplay are almost entirely fictional but u ...

'' (1957), for which he won an Oscar.

Early life

Malcolm Arnold was born in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, England, the youngest of five children from a prosperous Northampton family of shoemakers. Although shoemakers, his family was full of musicians; both of his parents were pianists, and his aunt was a violinist. His great great grandfather was the composer William Hawes, a choirmaster at the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

. After seeing

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

play in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, he took up the trumpet at the age of 12, and five years later won a scholarship to the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

(R.C.M.). At the RCM he studied composition with

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...

Grove Concise Dictionary of Music 1988 and the trumpet with Ernest Hall. In 1941, he joined the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

(LPO) as second trumpet and became principal trumpet in 1943. In 1941 he registered as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

, and was initially exempted from military service conditional upon joining the

National Fire Service The National Fire Service (NFS) was the single fire service created in Great Britain in 1941 during the Second World War; a separate National Fire Service (Northern Ireland) was created in 1942. History The NFS was created in August 1941 by t ...

, but in the event he was allowed to continue in the LPO. In 1944, after his brother in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

had been killed, he volunteered for military service. When the army put him in a military band he shot himself in the foot to get back to civilian life; he remained in touch with the CO movement, giving a trumpet recital at the 1946 New Year party of the Central Board for Conscientious Objectors. After a season as principal trumpet with the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

, he returned in 1946 to the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the exist ...

, where he remained until 1948, leaving to become a full-time composer.

Career

Arnold began his career playing

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

professionally, but by the age of 30 his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain. His natural

melodic A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term c ...

gift earned him a reputation as a composer of

light music Light music is a less-serious form of Western classical music, which originated in the 18th and 19th centuries and continues today. Its heyday was in the mid‑20th century. The style is through-composed, usually shorter orchestral pieces and ...

in works such as some of his concert overtures and the sets of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

, English,

Four Scottish Dances ''Four Scottish Dances'' ( Op.59) is an orchestral set of light music pieces composed by Malcolm Arnold in 1957 for the BBC Light Music Festival. The dances Arnold's set, or suite, consists of four dances inspired by, although not based on, Sco ...

, Irish and Cornish dances. He was also a highly successful composer of film music, penning the scores to over a hundred features and documentaries, including titles such as ''

'', ''

Hobson's Choice A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one thing is actually offered. The term is often used to describe an illusion that choices are available. The best known example is "I'll give you a choice: Take it or leave it", wherein "leaving ...

'' and the

St Trinian's ''St Trinian's'' is a British gag cartoon comic strip series, created and drawn by Ronald Searle from 1946 until 1952. The cartoons all centre on a boarding school for girls, where the teachers are sadists and the girls are juvenile delinquent ...

series. His nine symphonies are often deeply personal and show a more serious side to his work, which has proved more controversial; his final symphony, for example, is so bleak in mood and sparse in orchestration that it was not publicly performed until six years after its composition. Arnold also wrote a variety of concertos and chamber works, as well as music for the theatre including major ballets.

Later years and death

By 1961, Arnold had a reputation for being unpleasant, frequently drunk and highly promiscuous. He divorced his first wife in that year. His second wife took out a court order after they separated. After their divorce, he made two suicide attempts. His later years saw a decline in both his health and his finances. In 1978, he was treated as an in-patient for several months in the acute psychiatric ward at the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barnet Ho ...

, Pond Street, London, and in 1979 he entered

St Andrew's Hospital St Andrews Hospital is a mental health facility in Northampton, England. It is managed by St Andrew's Healthcare. History Formation The facility was founded by public subscription for "private and pauper lunatics" and opened as the Northampto ...

in his hometown of Northampton to be treated for depression and

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. Between 1979 and 1986 he was formally in the care of the

Court of Protection The Court of Protection in English law is a superior court of record created under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It has jurisdiction over the property, financial affairs and personal welfare of people who lack mental capacity to make decisio ...

. However despite this, and being given only a year to live in the early 1980s, he recovered and lived for 22 more years, albeit with a carer, Anthony Day. In this period he completed his

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

and final symphony in 1986. By the time of his 70th birthday in 1991 his artistic reputation with the general public was recovering and he was even able to enjoy a triumphant appearance on the stage of the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

to receive an ovation after a Proms performance of his Guitar Concerto. Arnold died at the

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) is a large National Health Service (NHS) academic teaching hospital in the Norwich Research Park on the western outskirts of Norwich, England. The university hospital replaced the former Norf ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, on 23 September 2006, aged 84, after suffering from a chest infection. That same day his last work, ''The Three Musketeers'', was premiered in a

Northern Ballet Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The compa ...

production at the

Bradford Alhambra The Alhambra Theatre is a theatre in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, named after the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, which was the place of residence of the Emir of the Emirate of Granada. It was built in 1913 at a cost of £20,000 for t ...

. (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.) A dispute was fought out between Day and members of Arnold's family over the royalties of Arnold's Ninth Symphony. Day was granted rights, having been left a substantial part of Arnold's estate.

Music

Arnold was a relatively conservative composer of tonal works, but a prolific and popular one. He acknowledged

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

as an influence, alongside

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. Several commentators have drawn a comparison with

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

. Arnold's most significant works are sometimes considered to be his nine

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

. He also wrote a number of

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

s, including one for

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

for

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perc ...

, one for

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

for

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julia ...

, one for viola, two for

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

for

Frederick Thurston Frederick John Thurston (21 September 1901 – 12 December 1953) was an English clarinettist. Career From the age of 7, he was taught by his father, and he won an open scholarship to the Royal College of Music, becoming a pupil of Charles D ...

and

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

, one for

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

for

Larry Adler Lawrence Cecil Adler (February 10, 1914 – August 6, 2001) was an American harmonica player and film composer. Known for playing major works, he played compositions by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Darius Milhaud ...

and one – enthusiastically welcomed at its premiere during the 1969

Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

– for three hands on two pianos for the husband-and-wife team of

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a British Liberal Party and Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. Smith was first active in local politics as ...

and

Phyllis Sellick Phyllis Sellick, OBE (16 June 191126 May 2007)John Amis, Obituaries''Phyllis Sellick'' Guardian UnlimitedObituaries''Phyllis Sellick'' The Daily TelegraphObituariesPhyllis Sellick, The Independent was a British pianist and teacher, best known ...

. His sets of dances – comprising two sets of '' English Dances'' ( Opp. 27 and 33), along with one set each of ''

Scottish Dances Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

'' (Op. 59), '' Cornish Dances'' (Op. 91), ''

Irish Dances Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

'' (Op. 126), and '' Welsh Dances'' (Op. 138) — are mainly in a lighter vein and are popular both in their original orchestral guise and in later

wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

and

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

band arrangements. The ''English Dances'' also form the basis for

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

's short ballet ''

Solitaire Solitaire may refer to: Film and television *'' Le Solitaire'', a 1987 French film * ''Solitaire'' (1991 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Solitaire'' (2008 film), a drama film *''Solitaire'', 2016 Lebanese comedy film with Bassam Kousa *"Solit ...

'', and one of them has been used as the theme music for the British television programme '' What the Papers Say'' (the ''Cornish Dances'' has provided the theme music for the television programmes of the cook

Rick Stein Christopher Richard Stein, (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife) Jill Stein, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. T ...

). Arnold also wrote some highly successful concert overtures,Cooke, Mervyn (2005)
Malcolm Arnold: Concert Overtures
(PDF).

Chandos Records Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.Tam o' Shanter Overture, Tam o' Shanter'' (based on the famous

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

), the rollicking ''A Grand Grand Overture'' (written for a Hoffnung Festival and featuring three vacuum cleaners and a floor polisher, all in turn polished off by a firing squad in a mock ''

1812 Events January–March * January 1 – The ''Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (the Austrian civil code) enters into force in the Austrian Empire. * January 19 – Peninsular War: The French-held fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo Siege ...

'' manner), and the dramatic '' Peterloo Overture'' (commissioned by the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

to commemorate the historic massacre of protesting workers in Manchester). Another popular short work is his Divertimento for

Flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

Oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

and

Clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

(Op. 37). Arnold is also known for his relatively large number of compositions and arrangements of his own compositions for

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

. In 1954, ''Beckus the Dandipratt'' was given a radio studio performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. H ...

, who was thanked by the composer for his "wonderful performance."

Film scores

A successful composer for the cinema, Malcolm Arnold was credited with having written over a hundred

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s for features and documentaries between 1947 and 1969. In 1957, Arnold won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for the music to

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...

's film ''

''. His two other collaborations with David Lean were ''

The Sound Barrier ''The Sound Barrier'' is a 1952 British aviation drama film directed by David Lean. It is a fictional story about attempts by aircraft designers and test pilots to break the sound barrier. It was David Lean's third and final film with his wife ...

'' (1952) and ''

'' (1954). ''

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness ''The Inn of the Sixth Happiness'' is a 1958 20th Century Fox film loosely based on the story of Gladys Aylward, a British woman who became a missionary in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Mark Robson, who received a nomi ...

'' (1958) won Arnold an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

. Also during the 1950s – an especially prolific period for Arnold – he provided a series of scores for major British and American feature films, such as ''

The Captain's Paradise ''The Captain's Paradise'' is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Anthony Kimmins, and starring Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo and Celia Johnson. Guinness plays the captain of a passenger ship that travels regularly between Gibra ...

'' (1953), ''

The Sea Shall Not Have Them ''The Sea Shall Not Have Them'' is a 1954 British war film starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Steel. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based on the 1953 novel by John Harris, about a North Sea rescue during the Second Wo ...

'' (1954), ''

The Night My Number Came Up ''The Night My Number Came Up'' is a 1955 British supernatural drama film directed by Leslie Norman and starring Michael Redgrave, Sheila Sim and Alexander Knox. The screenplay by R. C. Sherrif was based on an incident in the life of British ...

'' (1955), ''

The Constant Husband ''The Constant Husband'' is a 1955 British comedy film, directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall, Cecil Parker, George Cole and Raymond Huntley. The story was written by Gilliat together with Val ...

'' (1955), ''

I Am a Camera ''I Am a Camera'' is a 1951 Broadway play by John Van Druten adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1939 novel '' Goodbye to Berlin'', which is part of '' The Berlin Stories''. The title is a quotation taken from the novel's first page: "I am a c ...

'' (1955), ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

'' (1956), ''

Trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or ...

'' (1956), ''

A Hill in Korea ''A Hill in Korea'' is a 1956 British war film based on Max Catto's 1953 novel of the same name. The original name was ''Hell in Korea'', but it was changed for distribution reasons—except in the US. It was directed by Julian Amyes and pro ...

'' (1956), ''

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

'' (1958), '' The Key'' (1958) and '' The Roots of Heaven'' (1958). He also wrote the music for the entire series of

films, including '' The Belles of St Trinian's'' (1954), which was a particular favourite with the composer. The films' introductory theme has echoes of "Lili Marleen", the iconic wartime song. His 1960s scores included ''

The Angry Silence ''The Angry Silence'' is a 1960 black-and-white British drama film directed by Guy Green and starring Richard Attenborough, Pier Angeli, Michael Craig and Bernard Lee. The film marked the first release through screenwriter Bryan Forbes's p ...

'' (1960), ''

Tunes of Glory ''Tunes of Glory'' is a 1960 British drama film directed by Ronald Neame, starring Alec Guinness and John Mills, featuring Dennis Price, Kay Walsh, John Fraser, Duncan MacRae, Gordon Jackson and Susannah York. It is based on the 1956 nove ...

'' (1960), '' No Love for Johnnie'' (1961), '' Whistle Down the Wind'' (1961), ''

The Inspector ''The Inspector'' is an American series of 34 theatrical cartoon shorts produced between 1965 and 1969 by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists. The cartoons are dedicated to an animated version of Inspector Clousea ...

'' (1962), '' The Lion'' (1962), ''

Nine Hours to Rama ''Nine Hours to Rama'' is a1963 British-American neo noir crime film directed by Mark Robson (film director), Mark Robson that follows a fictionalised Nathuram Godse in the hours before he Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, assassinated the India ...

'' (1963), ''

Tamahine ''Tamahine'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Nancy Kwan, Dennis Price and John Fraser. It was written by Denis Cannan. A Polynesian woman who believes she can change the culture of Hallow School, a Briti ...

'' (1963), ''

The Chalk Garden ''The Chalk Garden'' is a play by Enid Bagnold that premiered in the USA in 1955 and was produced in Britain the following year. It tells the story of the imperious Mrs St Maugham and her granddaughter Laurel, a disturbed child under the care o ...

'' (1964), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1964), ''

Sky West and Crooked The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronom ...

'' (1965), ''

The Heroes of Telemark ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1965), ''

Africa Texas Style ''Africa Texas Style'' is a 1967 British adventure film directed by Andrew Marton and starring John Mills, Hugh O'Brian and Nigel Green. The plot is about two American cowboys who are hired by a British rancher to oversee his estate in Kenya ...

'' (1967) and '' The Reckoning'' (1970). His last film score was for the movie ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'' (1969).

Legacy

He was the President of the

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Youth Orchestra A youth orchestra is an orchestra made of Youth, young musicians, typically ranging from pre-teens or teenagers to those of Music school, conservatory age. Depending on the age range and selectiveness, they may serve different purposes. Orchest ...

until his death in September 2006. The

Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra The Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO) is a youth orchestra based in Leicester, England. The players, aged between 15 and 18, are all drawn from secondary schools in the county of Leicestershire and the City of Leicester. History Th ...

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 De Montfort Hall is the largest music and performance venue in Leicester, England. It is situated adjacent to Victoria Park and is named after the ''Father of Parliament'', Simon de Montfort, the 6th Earl of Leicester. History The hall was b ...

concert that included his own ''English Dances'' and ''Tam O'Shanter''. Malcolm Arnold wrote the ''Trevelyan Suite'' to mark the opening of

Trevelyan College Trevelyan College (known colloquially as Trevs) is a Colleges of the University of Durham, college of Durham University, England. Founded in 1966, the college takes its name from social historian George Macaulay Trevelyan (pronounced "Trevillia ...

, University of Durham. His daughter was among the first intake of students. He

conducted Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the live

recording of Jon Lord's ''Concerto for Group and Orchestra'' with Deep Purple in September, 1969. The following year he conducted the premiere of Lord's ''Gemini Suite'' with Deep Purple and the Light Music Society at the Royal Festival Hall and in 1971 conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in the studio recording of ''Gemini Suite'' with various rock soloists. Since the 1980s there have been frequent concerts and festivals dedicated to his music. In October of each year there is a Malcolm Arnold Festival in his birthplace

, currently directed by the chairman of the Malcolm Arnold Society, Paul Harris. On 3 September 2010 the Malcolm Arnold Academy, a secondary school in Northampton, was opened; while in September 2014 the new Malcolm Arnold Preparatory Free School was opened. , the fate of an archive of material relating to the period between 1979 and 1986, when Arnold was in the care of the Court of Protection, is in question. Because the archive contains personal information, its current holders, the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice, have always refused access to it and wish to destroy it. Arnold's daughter, Katherine Arnold, and others have appealed for it to be retained and transferred to the The National Archives (United Kingdom), National Archives. In a written answer to John Hayes (British politician), John Hayes MP on 17 November 2020, John Whittingdale, Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, stated that the fate of the records was under discussion between the Ministry of Justice, the National Archives and the Court of Protection, and that they were "not at imminent risk of destruction."

Honours and awards

* 1937 – Scholarship to the

* 1941 – Cobbett Competition, 2nd prize for ''Vita Abundans'' * 1948 – Scholarship by the Royal Academy of Music's Mendelssohn Scholarship Foundation * 1951 – Venice Film Festival 1st prize in the music documentary class for ''Science in the Orchestra'' * 1958 – Academy Award for the music to ''

'' * 1959 –

for the music to ''

'' * 1969 – Honorary Doctorate, University of Exeter * 1969 – Bard of Gorseth Kernow, taking the Bardic name ''Trompour'' ('Trumpeter'). * 1970 – Commander (CBE) of the Order of the British Empire * 1982 – Honorary Doctorate, University of Durham * 1983 – Fellowship of the

, London * 1984 – Honorary Doctorate, University of Leicester * 1985 – Honorary Member, Royal Academy of Music, London * 1986 – Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Services to British Music * 1987 – Wavendon AllMusic Composer of the Year * 1989 – Honorary Doctorate, Miami University of Ohio * 1989 – Freedom of the City, Freedom of the Borough of

* 1992 – Fellowship of the Trinity College of Music, London * 1993 – Knight Bachelor, knighted for services to music * 1994 – Honorary President, Victoria College of Music, London * 1997 – Fellowship of the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester * 2001 – Fellowship of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors * 2003 – Honorary Doctorate, University of Winchester * 2004 – Distinguished Musician Award, Incorporated Society of Musicians * 2006 – Honorary Doctorate, University of Northampton

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

*
The Malcolm Arnold Society

Official Malcolm Arnold Festival website
*
Critical essay by Simon Heffer in Standpoint Magazine

16 March 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Malcolm Malcolm Arnold, 1921 births 2006 deaths British Army soldiers 20th-century English classical composers English male conductors (music) English male classical composers English film score composers English male film score composers English light music composers Jazz-influenced classical composers Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Composers awarded knighthoods Musicians from Northampton Alumni of the Royal College of Music Bards of Gorsedh Kernow Ivor Novello Award winners British ballet composers Brass band composers English conscientious objectors People educated at Northampton School for Boys Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods People from Attleborough 20th-century English conductors (music) British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century English male musicians Military personnel from Northampton Players of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Players of the BBC Symphony Orchestra English classical trumpeters