Diamond Anniversary

Pictured: David Diamond

July marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of David Diamond, and WXXI is honoring the American composer with a special broadcast. LISTEN HERE ON-DEMAND

Listeners will meet a quirky, brilliant, and sometimes lonely composer whose music we’re still coming to grips with one hundred years later in Diamond Anniversary, premiering Thursday, July 9, 2015 at 1 p.m. on Classical 91.5. Diamond was born July 9, 1915 in Rochester, NY and studied at the Eastman School of Music under Bernard Rogers in composition and with Effie Knauss in violin. This special repeats on Sunday, July 12 at 1 p.m. on Classical 91.5.

Diamond Anniversary is a three-dimensional portrait of David Diamond with more than 45 minutes of his finest music in high quality performances. It frames his output in the context of history and includes archival audio recorded at the piano in his home in Rochester, New York. During the special listeners will meet David Diamond through the eyes of his friend, internationally renowned conductor Gerard Schwarz, and WXXI award-winning producer Brenda Tremblay, who interviewed Diamond many times before his passing. The program features some of Diamond’s favorite music, including The Enormous Room, a lilting chamber piece for flute and harp, and the symphony some consider the greatest of the early twentieth century.

Listen to full program here: