Danielpour was born in New York City of Persian Jewish descent and grew up in New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida. He 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).
Career
Early on as a student—first at the New England Conservatory, then at The Juilliard School—Danielpour established his reputation as a pianist (studying under Hollander, Jochum, and Chodus) and composer (under Persichetti and Mennin). His first Piano Concerto, completed in 1981 (but later withdrawn), was commissioned and received its first performances while Danielpour was still a Juilliard student. He initially employed serial methods in his works in the early 1980s, but works from the end of that decade, such as First Light (1988) and The Awakened Heart (1990), adopt a broader and more expressive style. He emerged in the 1990s as one of a handful of composers, alongside Adams, Rouse, Schwantner, Corigliano, and Kernis, who embraced triadic harmony alongside experimental innovations of the previous century — the familiar sound of the traditional orchestra as well as elements of pop, rock, and jazz. 1996's Concerto for Orchestra ("Zoarastrian Riddles"), for example, contains musical allusions to Broadway scores, movies, and television. In the late 1990s, Danielpour became one of only three composers (the others being Stravinsky and Copland) to be signed to an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical. He has fulfilled commissions for numerous orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony and the New York Philharmonic, received several awards (including MacDowell, Rockefeller, and Guggenheim fellowships), completed numerous residencies, and served on the faculties of the Curtis Institute and the Manhattan School of Music. In 2005 he completed his first opera, Margaret Garner, in collaboration with Toni Morrison.
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. 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).
A Child's Reliquary (2000), double concerto for violin, cello & orchestra
Nocturne (2000), for string orchestra
An American Requiem (2001), for mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone soli, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra
Cello Concerto No. 2 - Through the Ancient Valley (2001), for cello solo, kamancheh soloists & orchestra
commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who premièred the work under Kurt Masur at Avery Fisher Hall, New York City on March 14, 2001.
In the Arms of the Beloved (2001), double concerto for violin, cello & orchestra
commissioned to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of Jaime Laredo (violinist) and Sharon Robinson (cellist), who premièred the work with the IRIS Chamber Orchestra under Michael Stern in Germantown, TN on April 20, 2002.
From the Mountaintop (2001), concerto for clarinet and orchestra
Piano Concerto No. 3 - Zodiac Variations (2002), for piano left-hand & orchestra
an arrangement of the third movement of Danielpour's String Quartet No. 4 - Apparitions
Songs of Solitude (2004), song-cycle for baritone & orchestra
written for baritone Thomas Hampson, commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, who premièred the work under David Robertson in Philadelphia, PA on October 21, 2004.
Adagietto (2005), for string orchestra
commissioned by the Wheeling Jesuit University for the Wheeling Symphony, who premièred the work (as part of the Wheeling Jesuit University's 50th anniversary celebrations) under André Raphael Smith in Wheeling, WV, on March 11, 2005.
Voice of the City (2005), for concert band
Washington Speaks (2005), for narrator & orchestra
three arias from Danielpour's 2005 opera Margaret Garner; commissioned by the Wheeling Symphony, who premièred the work with soprano soloist Tracie Luck and André Raphael Smith conducting in Wheeling, WV on May 19, 2006.
Voices of Remembrance (2006), concerto for string quartet & orchestra
commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, D.C.
A Woman's Life (2007), for soprano & orchestra
commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra; premièred by soprano Angela Brown with the Pittsburgh Symphony under Leonard Slatkin on October 16, 2009 in Pittsburgh, PA.
Rocking the Cradle (2007)
commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony, who premièred the work under Juanjo Mena on March 22, 2007 in Baltimore, MD.
Kaddish (2008), rewritten for violin solo and orchestra
commissioned by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, with soloist Gil Shaham.
Vox Terrae (2008), for orchestra (G.Shirmer/A.M.P.)
Commissioned by the Lancaster Symphony
Lacrimae Beati (2009), for string orchestra
commissioned by the Sejong Soloists, who premièred the work at Alice Tully Hall, New York in December 2009.
Icarus (2009), for large brass ensemble, seven percussion & two pianos
commissioned by a consortium of eighteen US universities, premièred by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania "Keystone Brass Ensemble" at the WASBE International Conference in July 2010. A further performance was given by the Pittsburgh Symphony in 2010. The score is dedicated to Jack Stamp.
Mirrors (2009), suite in five movements for piano and orchestra
commissioned by the Pacific Symphony for Jeffrey Biegel
Piano Concerto No. 4 - A Hero's Journey (2010), for piano and orchestra
Commissioned by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and International Performing Artists Company. Written for Xiayin Wang and Philippe Entremont.
Sonnets to Orpheus, Book 1 (1992), for soprano solo & ensemble
Songs of the Night (1993), for tenor solo & piano trio
Sonnets to Orpheus, Book 2 (1994), for baritone solo & ensemble
String Quartet No. 3 - Psalms of Sorrow (1994), for baritone solo & string quartet
I Am Not Prey (1996), for soprano & piano duet
Elegies (1997), for mezzo-soprano, baritone soli & orchestra
Sweet Talk (1997), for mezzo-soprano solo & small ensemble
Spirits in the Well (1998), for treble solo & piano
Portraits (2001), for soprano solo & small ensemble
Songs of Solitude (2004), for baritone solo & orchestra
Four Arias, from "Margaret Garner" (2005), for baritone & piano
He Is By, from "Margaret Garner" (2005), for soprano & piano
Three Arias, from "Margaret Garner" (2005), for mezzo-soprano & piano
Pastime (2006), for baritone solo & orchestra
Triptych (2006), for mezzo-soprano & orchestra
A Woman's Life (2007), for soprano & orchestra
Three Prayers (2007), for soprano solo & orchestra
Come Up from the Fields Father (2008) for baritone, viola and piano; words by Walt Whitman
commissioned by the Curtis Institute, Philadelphia; premièred by Adrian Kramer (baritone), Roberto Díaz (viola) and Mikael Eliasen (piano) at the Curtis Institute on May 15, 2009.
Songs from an Old War (2009), for baritone & piano
written for American baritone Thomas Hampson
Solo instrumental
Psalms (1985), for piano
Sonata (1986), for piano
The Enchanted Garden (Preludes, Book 1) (1992), for piano
Mardi Gras (1992), for piano
Elegy (2003), for piano
Three Preludes (2003), for piano
Piano Fantasy: "Wenn Ich Einmal Soll Schneiden" (2008), for piano
The Enchanted Garden (Preludes, Book 2) (2009), for piano