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Del Tredici, David (b. March 16, 1937, Cloverdale, California). American composer of orchestral, choral, vocal, and piano works that have been performed throughout the world.
Prof. Del Tredici began private piano lessons in 1949. He studied piano privately with Bernhard Abramowitsch in Berkeley from 1953–59 and then studied composition with Seymour Shifrin at the University of California at Berkeley from 1955–59, where he earned his BA. He was encouraged to focus on composition by Darius Milhaud at Aspen in 1958 and studied composition with Earl Kim and Roger Sessions at Princeton University in 1959–60 and in 1963–64, where he earned his MFA, on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. In addition, he studied piano privately with Robert Helps in New York City from 1962–64.
Among his honors are a Guggenheim Fellowship (1966), the Naumburg Award (1972), the Pulitzer Prize in Music (1980, for In Memory of a Summer Day from Child Alice), and the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award (1982). He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1984). His music has been the inspiration for numerous ballets, including ones choreographed by Oscar Araiz in Switzerland and Glen Tetley in Canada. Moreover, he is the subject of the TV documentary Video Alice (1985). He has received commissions through the decades from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Elements String Quartet, the Fromm Foundation, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, the Koussevitzky Foundation, Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Rockefeller Foundation, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, among other ensembles, orchestras and organizations.
Prof. Del Tredici is also active in other positions. He made his début as a pianist in San Francisco in 1954 and was one of ten pianists involved in the complete première of Vexations by Érik Satie in New York City in 1963. He worked as a pianist at Tanglewood in 1964–65, on a Fromm Foundation grant, and served as composer-in-residence at the Marlboro Festival in Vermont in 1966–67. He later served as composer in-residence to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1988–90. He is a member of the board of directors of the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the MacDowell Colony and the Yaddo Colony.
He taught as an associate professor at Harvard University from 1966–72 and taught at Boston University from 1973–84. He has taught at the City College of New York since 1984, where he has been Distinguished Professor of Music since 1986.
Boosey & Hawkes publishes his music.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail address: DDTXIII@aol.com
Website: http://www.daviddeltredici.com/
SELECT LIST OF WORKS
STAGE: Dum Dee Tweedle (1 act opera in 5 scenes, libretto by the composer, after Lewis Carroll), soprano, alto, tenor, bass, speaker, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1992 (also concert version of one section as Cabbages and Kings)
ORCHESTRAL: Happy Voices, large orchestra, 1977–80, revised 1984 (section of Child Alice; may be performed separately); Triumphant Alice (Marcia), large orchestra, 1980 (version of In Memory of a Summer Day from Child Alice); March to Tonality, large orchestra (99 players), 1983–85; Tattoo, large orchestra, 1986; Steps, large orchestra, 1990; In Wartime, symphonic band, 2002–03; Fantasy on 'Nobody Knows', 2003
CHAMBER MUSIC: String Trio, violin, viola, cello, 1959; Acrostic Song, flute, harp/piano, 1982 (version of section of Final Alice; also version by Stephen Mercurio for guitar, 1982; version as Acrostic Paraphrase, harp, 1983); Brass Symphony, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1992 (version of Final Alice; also shorter version as Heavy Metal Alice, 1994); Cello Acrostic, cello, 1995; Grand Trio, violin, cello, piano, 2001; String Quartet No. 1, 2003; Magyar Madness, clarinet, string quartet, 2006; Aeolian Ballade (prelude and fugue), harp, 2007 (also version for piano)
CHORAL: The Last Gospel (text from the Book of John), amplified soprano, mixed chorus, ensemble (2 soprano saxophones [2nd + tenor saxophone], electric guitar, bass guitar), 2 piccolos, 2 oboes, 2 English horns, 2 bassoons, 2 contrabassoons, trumpet, trombone, string quartet, double bass, 1967 (also version for amplified soprano, mixed chorus, ensemble [soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, electric guitar, bass guitar], large orchestra, 1984); Pop-Pourri (text by Lewis Carroll), amplified soprano, countertenor ad libitum, mixed chorus, ensemble (2 soprano saxophones [2nd + tenor saxophone], electric guitar, bass guitar), orchestra, 1968, revised 1973; Acrostic Song (text by Lewis Carroll), soprano, mixed chorus, 1982 (version of section of Final Alice; also version for mixed chorus, harp/piano, 1986); Cabbages and Kings, soprano, mixed chorus, clarinet, 4 violins, small orchestra, 1996 (concert version of section of Dum Dee Tweedle); Four Heartfelt Anthems (texts from an anonymous source, Robert Louis Stevenson, The New England Primer's Alphabet, Robert Burns), children's chorus, 2002; Paul Revere's Ride (text by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow), amplified soprano, mixed chorus, large orchestra, 2005; Queer Hosannas (texts by Antler, Muriel Rukeyser, Jaime Manrique), 4 male voices, piano 4 hands, 2007
VOCAL: Two Songs on Poems of James Joyce, soprano, piano, 1959, revised 1978; Four Songs on Poems of James Joyce, mezzo-soprano, piano, 1958–60; I Hear an Army (text by James Joyce), soprano, string quartet, 1964; Night Conjure-Verse (song-cycle, text by James Joyce), amplified soprano, amplified mezzo-soprano/countertenor, 2 flutes (2nd + piccolo), oboe, 2 clarinets (2nd + bass clarinet), bassoon, French horn, string quartet, 1965; Syzygy, Two Songs for Two Groups (text by James Joyce), amplified soprano, French horn, tubular bells (2 players), ensemble (flute [+ piccolo], piccolo [+ alto flute], 2 oboes [2nd + English horn], 2 clarinets [2nd + bass clarinet], 2 bassoons [2nd + contrabassoon], 2 trumpets, 2 violins, 2 violas, cello, double bass), 1966; An Alice Symphony, amplified soprano, ensemble (2 soprano saxophones [2nd + tenor saxophone], tenor banjo, mandolin, accordion), orchestra (8 winds, 9 brass, timpani, 5 percussion, strings), 1969, revised 1976 (three sections may be performed separately: The Lobster Quadrille [text by Lewis Carroll]; In Wonderland, A Scene with Lobsters [text by Lewis Carroll]; Illustrated Alice, Two Scenes from Wonderland [texts by Lewis Carroll, David Bates]); Adventures Underground (texts by Lewis Carroll, Isaac Watts), amplified soprano, ensemble (2 soprano saxophones, tenor banjo, mandolin, accordion), large orchestra, 1971, revised 1977; Vintage Alice (Fantascene on a Mad Teaparty) (texts by Lewis Carroll, Jane Taylor, anthem God Save the Queen), amplified soprano, ensemble (2 soprano saxophones, tenor banjo, mandolin, accordion), small orchestra (flute [+ piccolo], oboe, E-flat clarinet, bassoon, 2 French horns, trumpet, trombone, timpani, percussion, strings), 1972; Final Alice (texts by Lewis Carroll, William Mee, an unknown source), amplified soprano-speaker, ensemble (2 soprano saxophones, tenor banjo, mandolin, accordion), large orchestra (109 players), 1974–75 (also version as Brass Symphony [shorter version as Heavy Metal Alice]; also versions of one section, Acrostic Song [text by Lewis Carroll], for high/medium voice, piano, 1982; soprano, flute, clarinet, trumpet, piano, tubular bells, string quartet, double bass, 1987; flute, harp/piano; version by Stephen Mercurio for guitar; soprano, mixed chorus; mixed chorus, harp/piano; version as Acrostic Paraphrase, harp); Annotated Alice (text by Lewis Carroll), amplified soprano, ensemble (2 soprano saxophones, tenor banjo, mandolin, accordion), orchestra, 1976; Child Alice (text by Lewis Carroll), 1977–81 (five sections may be performed separately: In Memory of a Summer Day, amplified soprano, large orchestra, 1977–80 [also version as Triumphant Alice (Marcia)]; Interlude and Ecstatic Alice, amplified soprano, large orchestra, 1980; Quaint Events, amplified soprano, large orchestra, 1981; Happy Voices; All in the Golden Afternoon, amplified soprano, large orchestra, 1981); Haddocks' Eyes (texts by Lewis Carroll, Thomas Moore), amplified soprano, piccolo (+ flute), clarinet, French horn, trumpet, piano, string quartet, double bass, 1985
VOCAL: A Tale of Possession (text by Alfred Corn), any voice, piano, 1996; Brother (song-cycle, text by John Kelly), male voice, piano, 1997; Chana's Story (song-cycle, text by Chana Bloch), mezzo-soprano, piano, 1996–98; Dracula (monodrama, text by Alfred Corn), amplified soprano-speaker, flute (+ piccolo), clarinet (+ bass clarinet), French horn, trumpet, string quartet, double bass, piano (+ celesta), theremin, 2 percussion, 1996–98 (also version with string orchestra instead of string quartet, double bass, 1996–98); Miz Inez Sez (song-cycle, text by Colette Inez), high soprano (+ tambourine), piano, 1996–98; The Spider and the Fly (text by Mary Howitt), high soprano, high baritone, large orchestra, 1998; Three Baritone Songs (texts by Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī [English translation], Michael Klein, Jaime Manrique), baritone, piano, 1999; Gay Life (song-cycle, texts by Michael D. Calhoun, Wilson Hand Kidde, Allen Ginsberg, Paul Monette, Thom Gunn), amplified baritone, large orchestra, 1996–2000 (also version for tenor/baritone, piano, 2007; version of one song as Wildwood Étude); Honey Money Loves (text by Colette Inez), soprano, clarinet, bass clarinet, viola, cello, double bass, 2000; Lament for the Death of a Bullfighter (song-cycle, text by Joshua Beckman), high soprano, piano, 1998–2001; Wondrous the Merge (melodrama, text by James Broughton), baritone-speaker, string quartet, 2001; My Favorite Penis Poems (song-cycle, texts by Marilyn Kallet, Edward Field, Alfred Corn, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī [English translation], Antler, Allen Ginsberg), soprano, baritone, piano, 1998–2002; On Wings of Song (song-cycle, texts by David Brunetti, Carla Drysdale, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Henry Francis Lyte, Edward Field), high soprano, piano, 2004; Rip Van Winkle (text by Washington Irving, adapted by Ray Warman), male speaker, large orchestra, 2005; On Learning on the Clearest Night Only 6000 Stars Are Visible to the Naked Eye (text by Antler), mezzo-soprano, piano, 2006; Love Addiction (song-cycle, text by John Kelly), male voice, piano, 1997–2007; A Field Manual (Overture and Five Songs on the poetry of Edward Field), high soprano, baritone, amplified ensemble (flute, saxophone, electric guitar, violin, cello, double bass/bass guitar, piano/synthesizer, percussion), 2008
PIANO: Soliloquy, 1958; Fantasy Pieces, 1959–60; Scherzo, piano 4 hands, 1960; Virtuoso Alice (Grand Fantasy on a theme from 'Final Alice'), 1984; Opposites Attract (Portrait of Virgil Thomson), 1996; Ballad in Yellow, 1997; Wildwood Étude, 1999 (version of song from Gay Life); Wedding Song, 2000; Three Gymnopedies, 2003; Ballad in Lavender, 2004; Gotham Glory, 2004; S/M Ballade, 2006; Aeolian Ballade (prelude and fugue), 2007 (version of work for harp)
ARRANGEMENT: Midday Thoughts (Aaron Copland), small orchestra (flute [+ piccolo], 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 2 French horns, strings), 2000
(Last updated on May 13, 2008)
