Happy Independence Day!

Is there a more neglected composer among symphonists of the “Greatest Generation” of American composers than David Diamond? I think not. Diamond composed 11 symphonies, and every one that I’ve heard has been wholly worthwhile. Yet, criminally, some of them have not even been recorded.

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we celebrate Diamond’s centenary (he was born on July 9, 1915), with his Symphony No. 4 and the orchestral fantasia “The Enormous Room,” after the autobiographical novel of E.E. Cummings.

In between, we observe the centenary of a seemingly disparate figure, George Perle (born on May 6, 1915). Diamond would occasionally construct a theme on a tone row, but his music was essentially tonal. Perle, by contrast, was twelve tone all the way, yet he managed, much like his musical hero, Alban Berg, to keep it lyrical. Despite their different approaches, both composers, Diamond and Perle, are quite direct in their appeal to the receptive listener.

I had been toying with the idea of programming Perle’s “Lyric Intermezzo,” a piano suite that manages to convey a romantic sensibility by way of serialism (it was inspired by Schumann’s “Waldszenen”). In the end, however, I opted for his eminently listenable – and Pulitzer Prize-winning – Wind Quintet No. 4.

I hope you’ll join me for “Pearls from Perle, Diamonds from Diamond,” this Sunday night at 10 ET, with a repeat Wednesday evening at 6; or that you’ll listen to it later as a webcast at http://www.wwfm.org.

An exhaustive analysis of Diamond’s symphonies by one of his former pupils:
http://alanbelkinmusic.com/Diamond/DD.html

David Diamond interview, conducted by Bruce Duffie:
http://www.bruceduffie.com/diamond.html

George Perle’s obituary in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/arts/music/24perle.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

George Perle in conversation with David Dubal:

PHOTOS: Perle before swine (top); Diamond is forever