Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) was born Northampton, England to a family of prominent shoemakers. Early interest in jazz led him to take up the trumpet, which eventually led him to the position of Principal Trumpet with the London Symphony Orchestra. By the end of the 1940s his career had become almost entirely focused on composition. He went on to write 132 film scores, including the 1958 Oscar recipient Bridge on the River Kwai, nine symphonies, seven ballets, twenty concertos, a handful of theatre music, and wealth of brass band and wind band music. He was knighted in 1993 for his service to music, having been hailed as one of the major composers of the twentieth century. See more about him at his website and Wikipedia bio.

The Overture for Wind Octet dates from 1940, when Arnold was only 18 years old. It was completed as a work for 4-hands piano, which Arnold then began arranging for Stravinsky Octet instrumentation. This was abandoned until 2004, when it was finally published as arranged by Uwe Radok for the harmonie instrumentation that was common in Mozart’s time. It is an energetic work that carries many of the style hallmarks of Arnold’s later music, showing remarkable maturity for a teenage composition. See more at Queen’s Temple Publications.

Here it is in performance by the East Winds: