"The ''River Kwai'' March" is a march composed by

Malcolm Arnold Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music ...

in 1957. It was written as an orchestral counter-march to the "

Colonel Bogey March The "Colonel Bogey March" is a British march that was composed in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881–1945) (pen name Kenneth J. Alford), a British Army bandmaster who later became the director of music for the Royal Marines at Plymout ...

", which is whistled by the soldiers entering the prisoner camp in the film ''

The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, the pl ...

'' and again near the end of the film when the bridge is formally dedicated. The Arnold march re-appears (without the "Colonel Bogey March") several times in the film and is repeated at the finale. The two marches have been recorded together by

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

as "March from the River Kwai - Colonel Bogey". Due to this, the "Colonel Bogey March" is often mis-credited as "River Kwai March". The Arnold march was published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. in a piano arrangement by Robert C. Haring. It also forms part of the orchestral concert suite made of the Arnold film score by

Christopher Palmer Christopher Francis Palmer (9 September 194622 January 1995) was an English composer, arranger and orchestrator; biographer of composers, champion of lesser-known composers and writer on film music and other musical subjects; record producer; and ...

published by

Novello & Co Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group. In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cla ...

References

External links

sample on Sir Malcolm Arnold's web site

Concert suite publication
{{DEFAULTSORT:River Kwai March, The March music Compositions by Malcolm Arnold Film scores Film soundtracks 1957 compositions