Richard Danielpour

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Richard Danielpour (born 28 January 1956 in New York) is an American composer.

Biography

Danielpour studied at Oberlin College and the New England Conservatory of Music, and later at the Juilliard School of Music, where he received a DMA in composition in 1986. His primary composition professors at Juilliard were Vincent Persichetti and Peter Mennin. Danielpour currently teaches at the Manhattan School of Music (since 1993) and the Curtis Institute of Music (since 1997).

Music

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 and "accessible" idiom. He cites the Beatles - along with John Adams, Christopher Rouse, and Joseph Schwantner - as influences on his more recent musical style. He also makes frequent references to Hemingway and Whitman, saying the emotion in prose and verse can be translated to music. Danielpour's notable works include First Light (1988) for chamber orchestra, three symphonies (1985, 1986, and 1990), three piano concerti (1981, 1993, and 2002), the ballet Anima mundi (1995), and most recently, the opera Margaret Garner (2005).