Craig Armstrong (composer)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Craig Armstrong
OBE
Born (1959-04-29) 29 April 1959 (age 64)
OriginShettleston, Glasgow, Scotland[1][2]
Genresclassical
Contemporary classical
Electronic
Alternative rock
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
Websitewww.craigarmstrong.com

Craig Armstrong,

OBE (born 29 April 1959)[3] is a Scottish composer of modern orchestral music, electronica and film scores. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 1981, and has since written music for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta
.

Armstrong's score for

Grammy Award for Best Original Score in 2004 for the biopic Ray. His other feature film scoring credits include Love Actually, Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Incredible Hulk
.

Life and career

Armstrong was born in Shettleston, Glasgow, Scotland[1][2]

He studied

Michael Boyd
.

He sees no difference in credibility between popular and classical forms[4] and this respect for the pop genre was cemented in 1994 with a one-off collaboration with the Bristol band Massive Attack on their album Protection,[2] after which the band formed their Melankolic vanity record label releasing his first two solo albums.

In 2001, Armstrong received

Armstrong has written several classical commissions for the

Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow with a joint exhibition called Once. In 2007 Armstrong's first opera was premiered as part of the Scottish Opera, titled '5:15 – Opera's made in Scotland', a 15min opera with a libretto by Ian Rankin
.

Honours

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for his contribution to music.[5][6]

Key works

Recordings

Armstrong has released two solo records on Massive Attack's label Melankolic, followed by Piano Works on Sanctuary in 2004 and Film Works on Universal in 2005. In 2007 Armstrong recorded his first classical record, "Memory Takes My Hand", for EMI Classics with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It was released in 2008 and includes a violin concerto "Immer" for Clio Gould.

Rosebud was released from a new co written and co produced project of Craig Armstrong and Scott Fraser – Winona. September 2009: "Without You (Deal Soul Brothers Remix)" – Format: 12" Vinyl single

Film scores

His score to

Grammy Award for Best Original Score and the worldwide ensemble comedy smash Love Actually. His scores can also be heard in The Magdalene Sisters, Kiss of the Dragon, The Bone Collector, The Clearing, Best Laid Plans, Orphans, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Incredible Hulk
.

Escape

One of the most popular tracks composed by Armstrong is "Escape" from

crescendo
and choir.

It was used in the trailer for the

Top Gear series at the climax of the season finale "epic challenges". Armstrong lists the songs which Top Gear has used on his web site.[8] "Escape" has been used in a number of action film trailers, including Spider-Man 2 and Daredevil.[9]

"Escape" has also been used as entrance music by various sports teams, including the

Twickenham stadium, Premiership rugby union team Leeds Carnegie before home games, and Kent County Cricket Club in Twenty20
matches.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b "EMI Classics – Craig Armstrong biography". EMI Classics. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ "Craig Armstrong, Esq, OBE. Biography". Debretts.com.
  4. ^ Wolfson, Richard (8 April 1999). "Trip-hop or Bach... it all touches you". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  5. ^ "No. 59282". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2009. p. 8.
  6. ^ "Mone and McGeechan head New Year Honours list". BBC News. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  7. ^ a b Craig Armstrong Online- Plunkett & Macleane Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine "One of the most popular tracks composed by Armstrong is 'Escape'. Here, all the elements of the score are drawn together – the epic choir, the orchestra, and the driving electronic beat".
  8. ^ "BBC's Top Gear Music Selection". Craigarmstrongonline.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  9. ^ "广东福彩快3|广东快三App|广东快三走势图". Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  10. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  11. ^ "Retrospective: Craig Armstrong's "Lab Scene" (Cradle of Life)". Musicoftombraider.com.

External links