Richard Arnell

Richard Arnell (born September 15, 1917 in Hampstead, London) is an English composer of classical music.

Arnell studied at the Royal College of Music in London from 1935 to 1939, and was taught there by John Ireland (composition) and St John Dykes (piano). He was awarded the Farrar Prize for composition during his final year at the college. At the outset of the Second World War, Arnell found himself stranded in New York, and stayed on until 1947, thereby finding himself in the unique position of having an established reputation in the U.S., but remaining relatively little known in his homeland. During his American soujourn Arnell was the Music Supervisor for the BBC in North America, was commissioned to compose (to a text by Stephen Spender) a cantata, 'The War God', in celebration of the opening of the United Nations, as well as a fanfare to greet Winston Churchill's arrival in New York.

His music has been championed by Thomas Beecham, Leopold Stokowski and Bernard Herrmann, among others. Between 1947 and 1987 he taught at Trinity College of Music in London.

Arnell composed the music for The Land (1942), a 45-minute documentary film directed by Robert J. Flaherty for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was also commissioned by the Ford Motor Company to compose a symphonic suite inspired by the workers in the factory at Dagenham. The resulting work accompanies a film entitled 'Opus 65'. Arnell established and headed the Music Department at the London International Film School until his retirement in the late 1980s.

He established a reputation as a major composer for the ballet stage through collaborations with choreographers of the stature of George Ballanchine, John Cranko and Frederick Ashton. His many ballets have been successfully staged in both New York and London. His score for 'Punch and the Child' was recorded by Sir Thomas Beecham with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has seldom been out of the catalogue.

Arnell's Symphonies 2, 3, 4 & 5, together with the Piano Concerto, Lord Byron a Symphonic Portrait and the early Overture "The New Age", received their world premiere recordings by conductor Martin Yates and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2005.

Arnell has composed in all the established genres for the concert staege, and his list of works include six symphonies and six string quartets.

Arnell is acknowledged as being one of the most masterful orchestrators of the twentieth century. ^{[citation needed]}

Selected works

Orchestral works

• Six symphonies
• Sinfonia-Quasi Variazione
• Lord Byron-Symphonic Portrait
• Robert Flaherty - Impression
• Landscapes and Figures
• Concertos for Piano, Violin and Harpsichord
• Overture, 'The New Age'
• Overture, '1948'
• Overture, 'The Food of Love'
• Classical Variations (String Orchestra)
• Two Divertimenti
• Fantasia
• Ode to Beecham (with narrator)

Chamber works

• Six string quartets
• String quintet
• Piano Trio
• Piano Quartet
• Oboe Quintet
• RVWs Almanac (Clarinet Quartet)
• Serenade for ten wind instruments and double bass
• Cassation for wind quintet
• Two sonatas for violin and piano
• Variations on an American Theme for violin and piano
• Sonatina for piano duet
• Brass quintet
• Horn quartet

Solo works

• 2 piano sonatas
• 2 organ sonatas
• unaccompanied pieces for violin, viola and cello
• numerous sets of variations for piano solo

Stage works

• Punch and the Child (ballet)
• Harlequin in April (ballet)
• The Great Detective (ballet)
• The Angels (ballet)
• Moonflowers (chamber opera)
• Love in Transit (chamber opera)
• The Petrified Princess (puppet opera)

Vocal works

• Ode to the West Wind
• The War God
• Six Lawrence Songs
• Con Amore
• Xanadu
• Cretaceous Intermission
• Five Emily Songs

Mixed media (Electric/Acoustic) works

• I Think of all Soft Limbs
• Nocturne: Prague
• Astronaut

Film scores

• The Land
• Opus 65
• The Visit
• The Third Secret
• Topsail Schooner
• The Man Outside
• Bequest to a Village
• Stained Glass
• The Black Panther
• The Antagonist
• Dilemma (with David Hewson)
• Toulouse Lautrec (with David Hewson)
• Doctor in the Sky
• We Are Many
• The Light of the World (with David Hewson)

External links

• Extensive article on Richard Arnell
• Warren Cohen on Richard Arnell

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