David Diamond

David Diamond (1915-2005) was an American composer who emerged in the 1930s as a strong exponent of diatonic tonality. Best known for his 11 symphonies and 10 string quartets, Diamond displayed an affinity for Romantic expressions and dramatic gestures in his youthful music, which won him support from conservatives. Yet by the 1950s, Diamond included chromatic dissonances and serial techniques in his work and developed a more complex style than the relaxed populism he employed earlier. Interest in Diamond's music was revived in the last years of his life, thanks to the popularity of the Adagio from his last symphony.