Malcolm Arnold (b.1921), is one of the most traditional 20th
century English composers.
Although there are traces of jazz (which he loves) in some of his music,
his output is based almost exclusively on strong, engaging melodies
supported by diatonic harmony, and has found a stable audience.
He has written a vast amount of orchestral music, including dozens of
concertos, overtures, and film scores, most notably the Oscar-winning score
for The Bridge on the River Kwai.
His style has changed so much over the years, including diversions
into "lighter" styles, critics scarcely know what to make of him.
Raised in a musical family, Arnold received instruction on both piano and
violin by the age of five.
Listening to Louis Armstrong at the age of ten, he decided to take up
the trumpet, and the passion held fast. At sixteen, Arnold won a full
scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London.
He completed his studies in 1941, receiving the Royal College's
Cobbett Chamber Music Prize.
He immediately became second trumpet with the London Philharmonic
Orchestra, later moving up to principal trumpet.
His tenure with the orchestra was interrupted by two years of military
service in World War II.
In 1948, he won a scholarship to study composition in Italy, and from
that time forward devoted his energies to composition and conducting.
Arnold's Sinfonietta No. 1, op. 48 was
composed in 1954 on commission from the Boyd Neel Orchestra.
This unusual ensemble, named after its conductor and
founded in 1933, was the focal point of the English revival
of Baroque string music in the 1930s.
From the beginning, the orchestra commissioned new
works and a commission came to Arnold just as Neel was
appointed Dean of Music at Toronto University and was
prepared to leave for Canada.
With his first Sinfonietta, Arnold follows a short,
three-movement form reminiscent of the 18th century
divertimento.
Its modest forces and approachable melodies also
suggest the late Baroque or early Classical.
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