A pupil of Bernard Rogers at Eastman, of Roger Sessions and Paul Boepple in New York, and then of Nadia Boulanger in Paris, the American composer David Diamond lived in Italy for some time, returning to the United States in 1965. He held various important teaching positions, from 1973 to 1997 at the Juilliard School in New York, and received a number of awards and distinctions.
Orchestral, Instrumental and Vocal Music
Diamond, against prevailing musical fashions, held to what he described as the Romantic spirit in music, a belief that allied him with composers such as Harris, Barber, Hanson, Schuman and Piston. He lived to see his music winning an audience, after years of academic neglect.
His orchestral works include 11 symphonies and three violin concertos, with chamber music that includes some six string quartets. His Jewish heritage is represented by his Kaddish for cello and orchestra and by settings of texts relevant to Jewish life in America in AHAVA – Brotherhood and Mizmor L’David.