David Diamond

David Leo Diamond (July 9, 1915 – June 13, 2005) was an American composer of classical music.

He was born in Rochester, New York and studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music under Bernard Rogers, also receiving lessons from Roger Sessions in New York City and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He won a number of awards including three Guggenheim Fellowships, and is considered one of the preeminent American composers of his generation. Many of his works are tonal or modestly modal. His early compositions are typically triadic, often with widely spaced harmonies, giving them a distinctly American tone, but some of his works are consciously French in style. His later style became more chromatic.

Diamond died at his home in Brighton from heart failure.

Diamond's most popular piece is Rounds (1944) for string orchestra. Among his other works are eleven symphonies (the last in 1993), concertos including three for violin, eleven string quartets , other chamber music, piano pieces and vocal music.

He also composed the musical theme heard on the CBS Radio Network broadcast "Hear It Now" (1950-51) and its TV successor, "See It Now" (1951-58); (see [1]).

Diamond was also named honorary composer-in-residence of the Seattle Symphony. His notable students include Daron Hagen, Adolphus Hailstork, Anthony Iannaccone and Lowell Liebermann. Diamond is also credited with advising Glenn Gould on his mid-career work, most notably Gould's String Quartet Op.1.

Works

Ballets
TOM (1936)

Orchestra
Symphonies
Symphony No. 1 (1940)
Symphony No. 2 (1942-1943)
Symphony No. 3 (1945)
Symphony No. 4 (1945)
Symphony No. 5 (1947-1964)
Symphony No. 6 (1951)
Symphony No. 7 (1957)
Symphony No. 8 (1958-1960)
Symphony No. 9 (1985)
Symphony No. 10 (1980s)
Symphony No. 11 (1989-1991)
Psalm (1936)
Rounds for String Orchestra (1944)

Concertante
Violin Concerto No. 1 (1937)
Violin Concerto No. 2 (1947)
Violin Concerto No. 3 (1976)
Kaddish, for cello and orchestra (1987)

Chamber
String Quartet No. 1 (1940)
String Quartet No. 2 (1943-4)
String Quartet No. 3 (1946)
String Quartet No. 4 (1951)
String Quartet No. 5 (1960)
String Quartet No. 6 (1962)
String Quartet No. 7 (1963)
String Quartet No. 8 (1964)
String Quartet No. 9 (1965-1968)
String Quartet No. 10 (1966)
String Quartet No. 11

Vocal
David Mourns for Absalom (1946) text is II Samuel 18:33