DIAMOND, DAVID

DIAMOND, DAVID (Leo; 1915– ), U.S. composer. Diamond taught himself to play the violin at an early age. In 1934he studied at the New Music School in New York, and from 1937 to 1939 he studied with Boulanger in Paris. In 1951 he was appointed to a temporary professorship at the University of Rome. He was composer-in-residence for a year at the American Academy in Rome (1971) and was appointed professor of composition at the Juilliard School of Music (1973–86). His many honors include the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Prix de Rome (1942), the Paderewski Prize (1943), a National Institute of Arts and Letters grant (1944), the William Schuman Award (1985), the Gold Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1991), the Edward MacDowell Award (1991). Diamond's symphonic works are marked by an individual style in the advanced idiom of modern music. Despite the complexity of his harmonic and contrapuntal writing, he never abandoned the tonal system. His music is always marked by a strong rhythmic drive. The impression received from his music is that of cogency and lucidity. He composed 11 symphonies, three violin concertos, a cello concerto, a piano concerto, and Rounds for string orchestra. Diamond excelled in chamber music, often in unusual combinations, including Quintet for flute, string trio and piano (1937), and Quintet for clarinet, two violas and two cellos (1951). He also wrote vocal music – choral and song cycles. Of Jewish inspiration are his Ahavah for narrator and orchestra (1954) and Kaddish for cello and orchestra (1987–89). -ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Grove online; MGG2; Baker's Biog Dict, S.V.; V.J. Kimberling, David Diamond: A Bio-Bibliography (1987). (Nicolas Slonimsky / Israela Stein (2nd ed.)