Synopsis
In all, American composer David Diamond wrote 11 symphonies, spanning some 50 years of his professional career. The last dates from 1991, and the first from 1940, completed after his return from studies in Paris shortly before the outbreak of World War II.
Diamond’s Symphony No. 1 was premiered on today’s date in 1941 by the New York Philharmonic led by famous Greek conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos. Despite winning awards and positive comments from fellow composers ranging from Virgil Thomson to Arnold Schoenberg, for years Diamond struggled to make ends meet by playing violin in various New York City theater pit bands. More than one fellowship grant, however, enabled him to live abroad for extended stays, where, he said:
“I can make my income last and live extremely well with my own villa and garden at a cost that would provide a hole-in-the-wall, coldwater flat in America … There is a spiritual nourishment, too, in that cradle of serious music [and] quiet for concentration that could never be found in an American city.”
Defending his more traditional approach, Diamond wrote: “It is my strong feeling that a romantically inspired contemporary music, tempered by reinvigorated classical technical formulas, is the way out of the present period of creativity chaos in music … To me, the romantic spirit in music is important because it is timeless.”
Music Played in Today's Program
David Diamond (1915-2005): Symphony No. 1; Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor; Delos 3119
On This Day
Births
1837 - Russian composer Mily Balakirev (Gregorian date: Jan. 2)
1850 - Bohemian composer Zdenek Fibich, in Vseborice
1940 - American composer and guitarist Frank Zappa, in Baltimore, Maryland
Deaths
1864 - American composer and journalist William Henry Fry, 51, in Santa Cruz, West Indies
1890 - Danish composer Niels W. Gade, in Copenhagen, 73
1957 - British light-music composer Eric Coates, 71, in Chichester
Premieres
1890 - Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 (final version), in Vienna, Hans Richter conducting
1900 - Frederick Converse: The Festival of Pan for orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, Wilhelm Gericke conducting
1903 - Glazunov: Symphony No. 7, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Jan. 3)
1908 - Schoenberg: Quartet No. 2 for strings and soprano, in Vienna, by the Rosé Quartet with soprano Marie Gutheil-Schoder
1934 - Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé Suite (from the film), on a Moscow radio broadcast
1934 - Toch: Big Ben (Variation Fantasy on the Westminster Chimes) for orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting
1939 - Prokofiev: cantata Zdravitza (A Toast), in Moscow, to celebrate the 60th birthday of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin
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About Composers Datebook®
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.