Arthur Butterworth MBE (b. 4 August 1923 in Manchester)[1] is an English composer, conductor and teacher.
Butterworth attended the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the Royal Northern College of Music), where he studied composition with Richard Hall and also learned the trumpet and conducting. He served as a trumpeter in the Scottish National Orchestra (now the Royal Scottish National Orchestra) from 1949–55 and in the Hallé from 1955–62;[2] he also played as a freelance until 1963. In that year he began to teach at the Huddersfield School of Music, an activity which he combined with composing and conducting. He was made an MBE in 1995. He is unrelated to the composer George Butterworth (1885–1916).
His works include six symphonies, the sixth having its première in St Petersburg by St Petersburg State Capella Orchestra on 15 November 2009. In the summer of 2008 Butterworth returned to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra to conduct a recording of his Fourth Symphony (1986) and his Viola Concerto (1988) with the English viola player, Sarah-Jane Bradley. He has also composed eight concertos, several other large orchestral scores and a considerable amount of 'serious' music for brass (almost totally neglected by the brass band movement). At 87 he is still active as a composer and an occasional conductor (August 2010).
A selection of Arthur Butterworth's orchestral and chamber works have been released on the Dutton Epoch Label. The Viola Concerto and the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies are all performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the composer's baton. One of the releases also includes Barbirolli's 1958 mono recording of Butterworth's First Symphony, along with a series of reminiscences by the composer. A CD of Piano Trios is also available.
His works include (as of 2008:[2])