Synopsis

The composer of this familiar theme was born on today’s date in 1904 in Lyon, France. He was christened Noel Arnaud, but is better known as Leo Arnaud, the name he adopted after emigrating to the United States. He studied music in his native France with two of its leading composers, Vincent d’Indy and Maurice Ravel. In the 1930s, Arnaud settled in Hollywood, where he churned out scores for everything from Blondie Goes Latin to The Ice Follies of 1939. The high point of his cinematic career was an Oscar nomination for his work as an arranger for the 1964 musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Some years earlier, Hollywood Bowl conductor Felix Slatkin commissioned Arnaud to write some music for a 1958 LP sonic spectacular designed to show off the new “stereophonic” recording process. The album was titled Charge! and featured military style fanfares and suites, including Bugler’s Dream.

In 1968, when ABC television was looking for a musical theme for its Olympic coverage, it chose Bugler’s Dream. By 1988, when the NBC network secured TV rights for the Olympics, Arnaud’s theme had become the instantly recognizable signature theme for the games.

Music Played in Today's Program

Leo Arnaud (1904-1991): Olympic Theme; Cleveland Symphonic Winds; Frederick Fennell, conductor; Telarc 80099