Arild Plau (1920–2005) studied the piano and composition at the Oslo Conservatory of Music. After the World War II, he decided to change instruments, and studied the bassoon. He got a job in Bergen, where he also made his debut as a conductor. Later he moved to Oslo, where he played the piano in various restaurants for eleven years. When The Norwegian Opera was opened in 1958, he got a job as a bassoonist. He stayed in the orchestra until he was 70, in 1990.
Plau wrote a Concerto for tuba and orchestra, chamber music, mostly for strings, but also a brass quintet, a sonata and four preludes for trumpet.