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II. Adagio - Andante
mm. 55-64 |
Skills & Techniques: Accuracy, Dynamic Contrast, Loud Playing
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Horn 1-4 (F)
Due to restrictions, sheet music for this excerpt is not provided.
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Seattle Symphony Orchestra (2004)
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New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1959)
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III. Allegro
mm. 129-157 |
Skills & Techniques: Accuracy, Loud Playing, Marcato Style, Rhythms, Slurring Flexibility
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Horn 1-4 (F)
Due to restrictions, sheet music for this excerpt is not provided.
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Seattle Symphony Orchestra (2004)
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New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1959)
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Composer & Composition Information
David Diamond (1915-2005)
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David Diamond was born on July 9, 1915 in Rochester, New York. By the age of seven he was playing a violin borrowed from a family friend and writing original tunes in his own system of musical notation. In 1927 the Diamond family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where David's talent finally came to the attention of Andre de Ribaupierre, a Swiss musician teaching in Cleveland, who arranged for him to receive his first formal training at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 1930 the family returned to Rochester where Diamond continued his studies at the Eastman School or Music with Bernard Rogers in composition and Effie Knauss in violin.
In the fall of 1934 Diamond went to New York on a scholarship from the New Music School and Dalcroze Institute, studying with Paul Boepple and Roger Sessions until the spring of 1936. That summer, Diamond was commissioned to compose the music for a ballet entitled TOM, to a scenario by E.E. Cummings based on "Uncle Tom's Cabin", to be choreographed by Leonide Massine. Massine was near Paris, and Diamond was sent there to be near the choreographer. Although, due to financial problems, the work was never performed, Diamond did establish contacts with Darius Milhaud, Albert Roussel, and the composer he revered above all others, Maurice Ravel. (The First Orchestral Suite from the Ballet TOM received its much belated – and much acclaimed – premiere in 1985, conducted by Gerard Schwarz). The text & image are reprinted from David Diamond's Website where more information about the composer can be found. |
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Symphony No. 4
Diamond completed this work on November 3, 1945. Leonard Bernstein conducted the first performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on January 28, 1948. It is scored for quadruple winds, trumpets, and percussion, six horns, three trombones, tuba, timpani, two harps, piano, and string choir.
Diamond enjoyed a creative heyday in the 1940s, composing four symphonies and starting a fifth (not completed, however, till 1964). For Philadelphia performances of the Fourth Symphony in 1977, Diamond provided a lengthy analysis without reference, however, to a 1945 "program" that stated its three movements (dedicated to the memory of Mme. Natalie Koussevitzky, "Magni Nominis Umbra") symbolized "a state of uninterrupted sleep...the transition from sleep to wakefulness...and the eternal wakening to death."
In 1977 he wrote (in part), "I consider the [the Fourth] my smallest large symphony. Small in the sense that not only is it short...but form is never allowed to exceed the needs of the material. Yet materials, although of a modest nature, are expansive, [and] somewhat transcendental in the way they go beyond themselves...."
The first movement is marked Allegretto. "A sonata-form movement in alla breve [2/2] tempo. Exposition: first theme (A minor) of a tender and pastoral lyricism in two large phrases; the first half of it played by muted violins and cellos at the beginning, the second half by violins and violas without mutes, ushered in by a cortege-like accompaniment. The second theme (D minor, solo oboe) has a simple, jovial, carefree quality. Subsequent development is the largest and most extensive section, [followed by] a short recapitulation of only the first theme, and a short coda...."
The text is written by & reprinted from Roger Dettmer (AllMusic) where more information about the composition can be found.
Diamond enjoyed a creative heyday in the 1940s, composing four symphonies and starting a fifth (not completed, however, till 1964). For Philadelphia performances of the Fourth Symphony in 1977, Diamond provided a lengthy analysis without reference, however, to a 1945 "program" that stated its three movements (dedicated to the memory of Mme. Natalie Koussevitzky, "Magni Nominis Umbra") symbolized "a state of uninterrupted sleep...the transition from sleep to wakefulness...and the eternal wakening to death."
In 1977 he wrote (in part), "I consider the [the Fourth] my smallest large symphony. Small in the sense that not only is it short...but form is never allowed to exceed the needs of the material. Yet materials, although of a modest nature, are expansive, [and] somewhat transcendental in the way they go beyond themselves...."
The first movement is marked Allegretto. "A sonata-form movement in alla breve [2/2] tempo. Exposition: first theme (A minor) of a tender and pastoral lyricism in two large phrases; the first half of it played by muted violins and cellos at the beginning, the second half by violins and violas without mutes, ushered in by a cortege-like accompaniment. The second theme (D minor, solo oboe) has a simple, jovial, carefree quality. Subsequent development is the largest and most extensive section, [followed by] a short recapitulation of only the first theme, and a short coda...."
The text is written by & reprinted from Roger Dettmer (AllMusic) where more information about the composition can be found.
Notable Performances/Recordings:
New York Philharmonic (2011)
Seattle Symphony Orchestra (2004)
New York Philharmonic (2011)
Seattle Symphony Orchestra (2004)