David Rose
David Rose was born in London, England, on June 15, 1910. His family came to the United States in 1914, settling in Chicago where Rose received his musical training at the Chicago Musical College. After working for radio and as pianist of the Ted Fiorito Orchestra, Rose came to Hollywood in 1938 where he became music director of the Mutual Broadcasting network. During World War II he served as musical director of, and composer for, Winged Victory, the Air Corps production by Moss Hart. After the war, Rose became outstandingly successful as musical director for leading radio and television programs (including the first Fred Astaire television show for which he received an “Emmy” Award), and as a composer of background music for many motion pictures. He has also appeared extensively in America and Europe as guest conductor of symphony orchestras.
Rose is the composer of several instrumental compositions in a popular style that have achieved considerable popularity. Indeed, it was with one of these that he first became famous as a composer. This was the Holiday for Strings, written and published in 1943, a three-part composition in which the flanking sections make effective use of plucked strings while the middle part is of lyrical character. Holiday for Strings received over a dozen different recordings and sold several million records. Fifteen years later, Rose wrote another charming composition in a similar vein, Holiday for Trombones in which virtuosity is contrasted with lyricism. Other instrumental works by Rose outstanding for either melodic or rhythmic interest are Big Ben, Dance of the Spanish Onion, Escapade, and Our Waltz.