Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006); ENG

Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921–2006) was an English composer and trumpeter whose prolific output encompassed symphonies, concertos, chamber music, ballets, and scores for film and the theater. Born in Northampton, he studied trumpet and composition at the Royal College of Music and, while still in his teens, joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra, eventually becoming its principal trumpet. During the 1940s he increasingly devoted himself to composition, leaving orchestral playing in 1948 to work full time as a composer. Arnold achieved wide public recognition through both his concert music and his exceptionally successful film scores. He was appointed CBE in 1970 and knighted in 1993, and remained one of the most distinctive British composers of his generation.

Arnold's music is characteristically direct, colorful, rhythmically energetic, and strongly melodic, often combining exuberant humor with passages of striking darkness and emotional intensity. At the center of his concert output are nine symphonies, whose accessible surfaces frequently conceal a deeply personal and sometimes troubled expressive world. His orchestral works include the popular sets of English Dances, Scottish Dances, Cornish Dances, and Irish Dances, while his concertos exploit his intimate knowledge of orchestral instruments and their individual characters. He also wrote extensively for brass and wind ensembles. Arnold composed more than a hundred film scores, including The Sound Barrier, Hobson's Choice, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, and The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. His ability to unite craftsmanship, memorable melody, wit, and dramatic force gave his music an individuality that has secured an enduring place in twentieth-century British musical life.

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Read biography at allmusic.com.