Richard Danielpour

b. January 28, 1956 in New York City, American composer.

Biography:
Award winning composer Richard Danielpour has
established himself as one of the most gifted and sought-after
composers of his generation. His music has attracted an
international and illustrious array of champions, and, as a
devoted mentor and educator, he has also had a significant
impact on the younger generation of composers. His list of
commissions include some of the most celebrated artists of our
day including Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Dawn Upshaw, Emanuel
Ax, Gil Shaham, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Hampson, Gary
Graffman, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, the Guarneri and
Emerson String Quartets, the New York City and Pacific Northwest
Ballets, and institutions such as the New York Philharmonic,
Philadelphia, Stuttgart Radio, and Vienna Chamber Orchestras,
Orchestre National de France, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln
Center, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and many more. With
Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, Danielpour created Margaret
Garner, his first opera, which premiered in 2005 and had a
second production with New York City Opera. He has received the
American Academy of Arts & Letters Charles Ives Fellowship, a
Guggenheim Award, Bearns Prize from Columbia University, and
grants and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo,
Copland House, and the American Academies in Berlin and Rome.
He is on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and Curtis
Institute.
In common with many other American composers of the
post-war generation, Danielpour began his career in
a serialist milieu, but rejected it in the late 1980s in favor of a
more ecumenical (less-artistically and socially limited) and
"accessible" idiom.
He cites the Beatlesalong with John Adams, Christopher
Rouse, and Joseph Schwantneras influences on his more recent
musical style. Danielpour's notable works include First
Light (1988) for chamber orchestra, three symphonies (1985,
1986, and 1990), four piano concerti (1981, 1993, 2002 and

2009), the ballet Anima mundi (1995), and the opera Margaret
Garner (2005).
Danielpour's music is published by Lean Kat Music & AMP.

First Light
Instrumentation: Flute, oboe (doubling English horn), clarinet,
bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, percussion, and strings
Performance time: 13 minutes
Premiered: March 2, 1988 in New York City (for 17 instruments)
(Full orchestra edition debuted in Germany in 1989.)
Richard Danielpour considers First Light to be his first opus,
the turning point in his career where his work sounds more like
himself than anyone else. Commissioned by Gerard Schwarz (former
conductor of Seattle Symphony, Lincoln Centers Mostly Mozart
Festival) and members of the New York Chamber Symphony for the
Music Today series in New York and Seattle, its premiere set in
motion the events and connections that led to a prestigious
publishing contract and a string of major early commissions. The
title was inspired by the last section of Four Pictures of the Real
Universe by American poet Robert Duncan, who died one month
before the premiere:
And does not the spirit attend secretly
the music that is hidden away from me
chords that hold the stars in their courses
outfoldings of sound from the seed of first light? Were it not for the
orders of music hidden
we should be claimed by the preponderent void.
First Light is a concerto for chamber orchestra in one
movement. The four sections alternate between viscerally
propulsive rhythms and quietly elegiac lyricism. Danielpour notes
that the two Alleluias from the Roman Catholic liturgy heard most
completely in the last section are not extraneous quotes but serve
both as a source for much of the material found throughout the
work and as an ultimate destination of the musics journey. The
works style is predominantly neo-romantic with echoes of
Stravinsky and Bernstein. Elements of minimalism and the rock
rhythms of Danielpours youth are discernible, but his individual
musical voice comes through most strongly in this work.

"[First Light] doesn't sound like anything I wrote previouslyIt

sounds a lot like what followed." Danielpour
"I remember at a rehearsal, Bernstein turned to me and said, 'This
piece is about a search for a certain kind of harmony,' " [Danielpour]
said. "That's not just the harmony of D major that comes at the end,
but about a search for a certain kind of harmony, as in peacefully."

Tendencies:
Rhythmic composer; frequent use of heavily rhythmic
ostinatos.
2 strong lines often happening simultaneously (large
contrast).
Accents to set up a line, then immediate displacement.

Catalogue: not listed are a slew of piano, solo, and chamber

works.
Orchestra
Serenade, For Large Orchestra (2013, 10)
Commissioned: Saratoga Performing Arts Center for the Philadelphia
Orchestra
Premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Keith Lockhart, conductor
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga, NY August 8, 2013
The Song of the Wandering Darveesh, For Orchestra (2012, 15)
Commissioned: Great Mountains Music Festival, South Korea
Premiered by the Festival Orchestra
Alpensia Hall, South Korea July 27, 2013
Vox Humana, For Large Orchestra (2012, 14)
Commissioned: National Theater Orchestra of Manheim
Premiered by the National Theater Orchestra of Manheim
Manheim, Germany, May 13, 2013
Come Up From the Fields Father, Orchestral version (2008/2012, 12)
Co-commissioned: Manhattan School of Music, the Wheeling Symphony
and the Vermont Symphony

Premiered by Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia, George

Manahan, conductor;
Thomas Hampson, baritone; David Geber, cello
Borden Auditorium, New York, NY, March 1, 2012
Across the Span of Time, For Orchestra (2011, 8)
Commissioned by the Seattle Symphony
Premiered by the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwartz, conductor
Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA, April 8, 2011
Vox Terrae, For Orchestra (2008, 17')
Commissioned by the Lancaster Symphony
Premiered by the Lancaster Symphony, Stephen Gunzenhauser,
conductor
Fulton Opera House, Lancaster, PA, November 11, 2011
Rocking the Cradle, For Orchestra (2007, 20')
Commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony
Premiered by the Baltimore Symphony, Juanjo Mena, conductor
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore, MD, March 22, 2007
The Night Rainbow, For Orchestra (1999, 18')
Vox Populi, For Orchestra (1998, 6')
Celestial Night, For Orchestra (1997, 20')
Concerto for Orchestra "Zoroastrian Riddles," For Orchestra (1996, 30')
Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Toward the Splendid City, For Large Orchestra (1992, 9')
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic
Song of Remembrance, For Orchestra (1991, 18')
The Awakened Heart, For Orchestra (1990, 24')
First Light, For Orchestra (1988, 13')
Symphony No. 1 Dona Nobis Pacem, For Large Orchestra (1984, 37')
Commissioned by the Paulist Fathers
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra "From the Mountaintop" (2013)
For Solo Clarinet and Orchestra (28')

War Songs, For Solo Baritone and Orchestra (2013, 21')

A Prayer for Our Time, For Solo Cello and Chamber Orchestra (2013, 9')
Commissioned: Eastern Music Festival
Premiered: Eastern Music Festival, G. Shwartz, conductor; Julian
Schwartz, cello
Eastern Music Festival, Greensboro, NC, July 20, 2013
Kaddish, For Violin and String Orchestra (2012, 16')
Commissioned by the New Jersey Symphony
Premiered by the New Jersey Symphony, Jacques LaCombe, music
director; Gil Shaham, violin
Toward a Season of Peace, For Solo Soprano, Chorus and Orchestra
(2012, 52')
Co-commissioned by the Pacific Symphony and the Dallas Symphony
Premiered by the Pacific Symphony, Carl St. Clair, music director;
Hila Plittmann, soprano; the Pacific Chorale, John Alexander, director
Segerstrom Hall, Orange County, CA March 22, 2012
Darkness in the Ancient Valley (Symphony in Five Movements)
For Solo Soprano and Orchestra (2011, 36')
Co-commissioned by the Nashville Symphony and the Pittsburgh
Symphony
Premiered by the Nashville Symphony, Giancarlo Guerrero, music
director; Hila Plittmann, soprano
Laura Turner Hall, Nashville, TN November 2011
Piano Concerto No.4, A Heros Journey, For Piano and Orchestra
(2011, 23)
Commissioned by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and International
Performing Artists Company
Premiered by Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Phillipe Entremont,
conductor; Xiayin Wang, piano
Konzerthaus Vienna, Austria, June 18, 2011
Mirrors (Suite in Five Movements for Piano and Orchestra) (2009)
For Piano and Orchestra (22)
Commissioned by the Pacific Symphony
Premiered by the Pacific Symphony, Carl St. Clair, music director;
Jeffrey Biegel, piano
Segerstrom Hall, Orange County, CA, February 28, 2010
A Woman's Life, For Soprano Solo and Orchestra (2008, 28')
Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Philadelphia
Orchestra

Texts by Maya Angelou

Premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony, Leonard Slatkin, conductor;
Angela Brown, soprano
Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, October 16, 2009
Three Prayers, For Soprano & Orchestra (2007, 13')
Excerpt from Danielpour's opera Margaret Garner (2005)
Pastime, Song-cycle for Baritone & Orchestra (2006)
Co-commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony,
and the Brooklyn Philharmonic
in celebration of the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on 10
July 2006
Triptych, For Soprano & Orchestra (2006, 15')
Three arias from Danielpours opera Margaret Garner (2005)
Commissioned by the Wheeling Symphony
Premiered by Tracie Luck, soprano; Andr Raphael Smith, conductor
Wheeling, WV, May 19, 2006
Washington Speaks, For Narrator & Orchestra (2005, 7')
Commissioned by the Knights of Columbus for the Orchestra of St.
Lukes
Premiered by Sir Gilbert Levine with Ted Koppel as narrator
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, D.C., November 14, 2007
Songs of Solitude, Song-cycle for Baritone & Orchestra (2004, 30')
Written for Thomas Hampson, baritone
Commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra
Premiered by David Robertson in Philadelphia, PA on 21 October 2004
Piano Concerto 3, "Zodiac Variations, For Piano Left-Hand &
Orchestra (2002, 24')
Commissioned by Herbert R. Axelrod for pianist Gary Graffman
Premiered with the National Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin,
conductor
Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., April 4, 2002
An American Requiem (2001)
for Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone soli, S.A.T.B. Choir & Orchestra (1
hour)
Cello Concerto No. 2, "Through the Ancient Valley" (2001)
For Cello Solo, Kamancheh Soloists & Orchestra (29')
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for cellist Yo-Yo Ma
Premiered by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Kurt Masur

Avery Fisher Hall, NY, March 12, 2001

In the Arms of the Beloved, Double Concerto for Violin, Cello &
Orchestra (2001, 28')
Commissioned to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of Jaime
Laredo (violinist) and Sharon Robinson (cellist)
Premiered by the IRIS Chamber Orchestra, Michael Stern, conductor
Germantown, TN, April 20, 2002
A Childs Reliquary, Double Concerto for Violin, Cello &
Orchestra (2000, 29')
A Fools Paradise, Concerto for Violin & Orchestra (1999)
Commissioned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Yaddos
collaboration with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Premiered: Chantal Juillet, violin; Philadelphia Orchestra, Charles
Dutoit, conductor
Saratoga Center, NY, August, 2000
Voices of Remembrance, Concerto for String Quartet & Orchestra
(1998, 24')
Commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra
Elegies, Song-cycle for Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone & Orchestra (1997,
33')
Piano Concerto No. 2, For Piano & Orchestra (1993, 31')
Symphony No. 3, "Journey Without Distance" (1990)
For Solo Soprano, S.A.T.B. Choir & Orchestra (30')
Cello Concerto No. 1, For Cello & Orchestra (1990, 31')
Piano Concerto No. 1, "Metamorphosis," For Cello & Orchestra (1990)
Symphony No. 2, "Visions," For Soprano, Tenor and Orchestra (1986,
36')
Oratio Pauli (1982)
For S.A.T.B. Choir and String Orchestra (18')
Band / Wind / Brass Ensemble
Icarus (2009)
For Large Brass Ensemble, Seven Percussion & Two Pianos (11)
Commissioned by a consortium of eighteen US universities

Premiered by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Keystone Brass

Ensemble
WASBE International Conference July 2009
A further performance was given by the Pittsburgh Symphony in 2010
Benediction (2007)
For 2 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones & Chimes (2')
Commissioned by New York City Opera for Altria Group, Inc. to
commemorate a decade of extraordinary support
Voice of the City, For Concert Band (2005, 7')
Vox Populi - for Concert Band (1998, 6')
Urban Dances, Book 2, For Brass Quintet (1993, 22')
Urban Dances (Book 1), For Brass Quintet (1988, 17')
Opera
Margaret Garner (2005, 2h 20m)
Libretto by Toni Morrison
Ballet
Urban Dances: Dance Suite in Five Movements, For Orchestra (1996,
27')
For the New York City Ballet and Choreographer Miriam Matavian
Anima Mundi (1995)
Commissioned by the Pacific Northwest Ballet
Choreographed by Kent Stowell
Premiered in Seattle, WA, February 26, 1996, Stewart Kershaw,
conductor