𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A festival that celebrates one of the country’s most popular composers Sir Malcolm Arnold will mark its 20th year by playing 20 of his concertos.

Sir Malcolm, who died in Norwich in 2006 aged 84, won an Academy Award for his score of the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai, which tells a story of British prisoners of war captured by the Japanese during World War Two.

The festival takes place from 18-19 October in Sir Malcolm’s hometown of Northampton.

Paul Harris, the festival’s director, said the annual event had brought Sir Malcolm’s work to “central stage”.

Mr Harris told Bernie Keith on BBC Radio Northampton the two-day event, which takes place at Northampton School for Boys, was “20 for 20”.

The festival first took place in 2006 to celebrate Sir Malcolm’s 85th birthday, but he died two weeks before so it became a “celebration of his life”.

Mr Harris said Sir Malcolm was a “very personable man, he would write for the greats, all his friends, he was accessible”.

“He was a composer writing music, music not in the style of others composers of his time.

“The critics of the time often said, ‘you’re writing a tune, we don’t do tunes’, but he said ‘yes, because it’s what people like’, but he was out of favour on and and off.

“Partly due to the festival we’ve brought Malcolm back central stage and he’s become a famous composer.”

Sir Malcolm was born in 1921 in Northampton and his other famous scores included Whistle Down The Wind and The Belles of St. Trinian’s.

A concert held at St Matthew’s Church, Northampton, on Saturday will feature a performance of the Grand Concerto Gastronomique for Waiter, Eater and Food; a suite of six short orchestral pieces,

It includes a wordless soprano in tribute to Nellie Melba, the Australian soprano.

Mr Harris said organising the festival over the years had “been a wonderful journey, I’m going to continue as long as I can and people want to come”.