Albert Arlen facts for kids

Albert Arlen (born January 10, 1905 – died March 24, 1993) was a talented Turkish Australian musician and writer. He was a pianist, composer, actor, and playwright.

He is most famous for his musical The Sentimental Bloke. This show was based on poems by C. J. Dennis. Albert Arlen also wrote a special piece called the "Alamein Concerto." Another well-known work is his musical version of Banjo Paterson's poem Clancy of the Overflow.

Albert Arlen's Story

Albert Arlen was born as Albert Aarons in Sydney, Australia, in 1905. His parents were immigrants from Turkey. He went to school in Sydney at Cleveland Street Public School and Crown Street High School.

Albert loved music and studied at the New South Wales State Conservatorium. He finished his studies there in 1924. He also studied music in Paris, France, at the École Normale de Musique de Paris.

After his studies, Albert moved to London, England. There, he worked as an actor in different plays in the West End. He also started writing his own music and plays. One of his plays was called The Son of the Grand Eunuch. He began using the professional name Albert Arlen. In 1948, he legally changed his name to Albert Arlen.

In 1939, Albert joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. He served as a pilot's assistant in the Middle East and Far East. His experiences during the war inspired him to write a special piece of music. It was a concerto for piano and orchestra, which he named the "Alamein Concerto."

This concerto was first performed in Cairo, Egypt, in 1944. A pianist named Phil Finch played it, and Hugo Rignold conducted the orchestra. The music was later used in a documentary about the Battle of El Alamein. After the war, Albert was sent to Singapore. He wrote musical shows there that were performed in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaya, and Ceylon.

In 1949, Albert Arlen married Nancy Brown. She was an actress, singer, and playwright. Nancy was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1909. She moved to England when she was 14 and performed in musicals.

The Sentimental Bloke Musical

Albert and Nancy returned to Australia and lived in Canberra. Around 1950, they began working on their musical The Sentimental Bloke. It was based on the famous poems by C. J. Dennis called The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. They worked with an actor named Lloyd Thomson on the script.

In 1955, Albert and Nancy went to England to try and get their show produced. However, they were not successful. So, they came back to Australia. They borrowed money and put together a group of amateur actors. In March 1961, they staged the show themselves at the Albert Hall in Canberra.

The show was a huge success in Canberra! It was so popular that they had to add extra seats for the audience. Important theater directors, Sir Frank Tait and John McCallum, saw the last performance. They decided to support the show and bring it to Melbourne.

The Sentimental Bloke opened in Melbourne on November 4, 1961. It was directed by John Young. The show was supposed to run for six weeks but was so popular it ran for five months! It then toured for over a year in other Australian cities like Adelaide and Brisbane, and also in New Zealand.

Years later, in 1985, The Sentimental Bloke was turned into a ballet. The Australian Ballet performed it in Australia and even took it on a tour to the Soviet Union.

Albert Arlen also wrote other musicals, like The Girl from the Snowy and Marriages Are Made in Heaven. However, these did not become as famous as The Sentimental Bloke. He also wrote many songs and piano pieces.

His songs Clancy of the Overflow and The Rivetter were recorded by the famous singer Peter Dawson. The recording of Clancy of the Overflow in 1955 was a bestseller.

Nancy Brown Arlen wrote a book about her life in 1991. It was called "The Black Sheep of the Brown family: A Magic Life!".

Albert Arlen passed away in 1993 on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

Awards and Recognition

In January 1990, Albert Arlen was given a special award. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). This award recognized his great "service to music and the performing arts."

Albert Arlen's Music and Plays

Here is a list of some of the musical works and plays by Albert Arlen:

• "Alamein Concerto" (for piano and orchestra, 1944)
• "Ballad for Australians" (words by Arlen and John Barnes)
• "The Austr-laise (fellers of Australia)" (a vocal march for military band, around 1961)
• "Bring back the Simple Faith" (song; lyrics by Harold Simpson, 1937)
• "A Celtic Romance" (around 1965)
• "Clancy of the Overflow" (1948)
• "Elise-oh! Go-go! (with apologies to Beethoven)" (around 1966)
• "The Girl from the Snowy" (musical; lyrics by Arlen; around 1960)
• "Go to sleep, little baby" (waltz lullaby, words by John Wheeler, around 1948)
• "God remembers every-thing" (words by Kathleen Egan; around 1935)
• "I heard a blackbird in a tree" (words by Bruce Sievier; 1935)
• "Many things I have loved" (words by Arlen; around 1965)
• "Marriages are Made in Heaven" (musical)
• "My life is a love song" (words by Bruce Sievier; 1936)
• "Night club: an atmospheric impression" (piano piece; around 1946)
• "The Pagoda of Jade" suite (orchestrated by Denis Wright)
• "Requiem for a Siamese Cat: inspired by the poem of the same name" (piano piece; 1965)
• "The Rivetter" (song; for baritone and orchestra; words by Bruce Sievier; around 1937)
• The Sentimental Bloke (a musical based on poems by C. J. Dennis; book by Nancy Brown and Lloyd Thomson; lyrics by Nancy Brown, Albert Arlen, Lloyd Thomson and C.J. Dennis; music by Albert Arlen. 1961)
• "Song of Canberra"
• "The Song of England" (for soprano, chorus and orchestra)
• "Spinnakers: a sketch of Sydney Harbour" (piano piece; 1970)
• "Suzette, my dolly, and me" (words by Harry Hemsley; around 1938)
• "Your Voice"