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Du Yun

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Du Yun (traditional Chinese: 杜韻, simplified Chinese: 杜韵) is a Chinese-born American composer, performer, musician and performance artist. She won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her opera Angel’s Bone, with libretto by Royce Vavrek. Du Yun was named as one of the 38 Great Immigrants by the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 2018, and received a 2019 Grammy nomination in the category of Best Classical Contemporary Composition for her work Air Glow. In its decade review, UK’s Classic FM listed Du Yun’s winning of the Pulitzer as No. 6 in “10 ways the 2010s changed classical music forever.” Rolling Stone Italia named her as one of the women composers who defined the 2010s. In 2024, Du Yun was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Early life and education Du Yun was born in Shanghai, China. She began studying piano at the age of four, attending the primary school Shanghai Conservatory of Music for piano. She studied composition at the middle school Shanghai Conservatory of Music with Deng Erbo. Du Yun later went to the United States for college and graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in composition, under Randolph Cole

Duarte Lobo

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Duarte Lobo (c. 1565 – 24 September 1646; Latinized as Eduardus Lupus) was a Portuguese composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. He was one of the most famous Portuguese composers of the time, together with Filipe de Magalhães, Manuel Cardoso, composers who all began their academic studies as students of Manuel Mendes. Along with John IV, King of Portugal, they represent the “golden age” of Portuguese polyphony. Life Details of his life are sparse. He was born in Alcáçovas, in Alentejo, southern Portugal. He is known to have been a choir boy at Évora where he subsequently studied with Manuel Mendes. His first position was as mestre de capela of the cathedral of Évora sometime before 1589, he became maestro di cappella at the Hospital Real, Lisbon. By 1591 he was appointed as mestre de capela at the cathedral in Lisbon, a position he held till 1639. This was the most prestigious musical appointment in the country. He also served as director of the Seminary of São Bartolomeu, and was also a professor of music at the ‘Colégio do Claustro da Sé’ (College at the Holy See Cloisters) in Lisbon, where he taught Manuel Machado. While chronologically his life overlapped with the b

Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (24 October 173910 April 1807), was a German princess and composer. She became the duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach by marriage, and was also regent of the states of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach from 1758 to 1775. and Ernst Wilhelm Wolf. Also her mother Princess Philippine Charlotte was a composer. Marriage and issue In Brunswick, on 16 March 1756, sixteen-year-old Anna Amalia married eighteen-year-old Ernst August II Konstantin, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach She was pregnant with their other son Prince Constantine, born three months after the father’s death. The boy was brought up under the regency and supervision of his mother, a woman of enlightened but masterful temperament. His governor was Count Eustach von Görz, a German nobleman of the old strait-laced school; but a more humane element was introduced into his training when, in 1771, Christoph Martin Wieland was appointed his tutor. In 1774 the poet Karl Ludwig von Knebel came to Weimar as tutor to the young Prince Constantine. Anna Amalia herself played a significant part in bringing together the poetry of ‘Weimar Classicism’. Johann Adam Hiller’s most successful Singspiel, Die Jagd (the

Duchess Elisabeth Sophie of Mecklenburg

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Elisabeth Sophie of Mecklenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (20 August 1613 – 12 July 1676) was a German poet, composer and impresario. Life She began studying music at the court of her father, Duke John Albert II of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, where was an orchestra known for its use of fine English musicians, such as William Brade. with whom she had two children: * Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg * Marie Elisabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Elisabeth Sophie was charged with organizing the court orchestra, and at times worked closely with Heinrich Schütz, who was appointed absentes Kapellmeister in 1655. She may have collaborated with him on arias in his Theatralische neue Vorstellung von der Maria Magdalena. She also played a major role in establishing large court entertainments, including masquerades, plays, and ballets, to which she at times wrote librettos and music. Her additional involvement in these entertainments is unclear. Two of her dramatic works survive: Friedens Sieg (1642, Brunswick) and Glückwünschende Freudensdarstellung (Lüneburg, 1652). Footnotes References * (similar text in Grove Opera article by same author) *

Dudley Simpson

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dudley George Simpson (4 October 1922 – 4 November 2017) was an Australian composer and conductor. He was the Principal Conductor of the Royal Opera House orchestra for three years and worked as a composer on British television. He worked on the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who, for which he composed incidental music during the 1960s and 1970s. When Simpson died aged 95 in 2017, The Guardian wrote that he was “at his most prolific as the creator of incidental music for Doctor Who in the 1960s and 1970s, contributing to 62 stories over almost 300 episodes – more than any other composer.” Among his television work was the music for Moonstrike (1963), theme music for The Last of the Mohicans (1971), theme music for The Brothers (1972), The Tomorrow People (1973), Moonbase 3 (1973), The Ascent of Man (1973) and Blake’s 7 (1978). He also composed music for several plays from the BBC Television Shakespeare series. Early life and career Simpson was born in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern East. He learned piano as a child, served in New Guinea during World War II and then studied orchestration and composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at the University of Melbourne. Sim

Dudu Tassa

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

David “Dudu” Tassa (; born February 10, 1977) is an Israeli rock musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 2011, Tassa has been the leader of Dudu Tassa & the Kuwaitis, which performs Iraqi and Kuwaiti songs by his deceased grandfather and great-uncle, Daoud and Salih Al-Kuwaity. He also has a solo career, and has collaborated on several occasions with the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. Life and career Tassa was born and raised in Hatikva Quarter in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a Jewish family who immigrated to Israel from Yemen, Iraq and Kuwait. He was active in the local community center during his childhood. He studied in the theater program at Ironi Alef High School, and at the age of 15 he released his debut album, “Ohev et Ha’Shirim” (Hebrew: אוהב את השירים, “Loving the Songs”), produced by Yishai Ben Tzur. In 2000, after finishing his military service, Tassa released the album Yoter Barur (יותר ברור, “Clearer”), which was critically acclaimed despite slim sales. in 2002 he joined the band of Israeli satirist Eli Yatzpan’s late night show as lead guitarist. In 2003, Tassa released his third album, Mitokh Behira (מתוך בחירה, “By Choice”), gaining larger exposure th

Duke Ellington

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Music critic Ralph J. Gleason called him “America’s most important composer”. With Strayhorn, he composed multiple extended compositions, or suites, as well as many short pieces. For a few years at the beginning of Strayhorn’s involvement, Ellington’s orchestra featured bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, and reached what many claim to be a creative peak for the group. Some years later, following a low-profile period, an appearance by Ellington and his orchestra at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956 led to a major revival and regular world tours. Ellington recorded for most American record companies of his era, performed in and scored several films, and composed a handful of stage musicals. Although a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, in the opinion of Gunther Schuller and Barry Kernfeld, “the most significant composer of the genre”, Ellington himself embraced the phrase “beyond category”, considering it a liberating principle, and referring to his music as part of the mo

Dulcie Holland

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dulcie Sybil Holland AM (5 January 1913 – 21 May 2000) was an Australian composer and music educator. Best known for her contributions to music education through her involvement with the Australian Music Examinations Board, Holland has in recent decades gained greater recognition as a composer. She is now regarded by some critics as one of the more significant Australian composers of her generation. Education Holland was born in Sydney in 1913. She began taking piano lessons at the age of six, and attended Shirley School for Girls, known for its academic excellence. In 1929 she entered the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music (now the Sydney Conservatorium) to continue her studies. At the Conservatorium she studied piano with Grace Middenway and Frank Hutchens, cello with Gladstone Bell, and composition with Roy Agnew and Alfred Hill, eventually completing both the Diploma course (DSCM) and the Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (LRSM) in 1933. In 1937, Holland travelled to London to study composition at the Royal College of Music with John Ireland. At the end of her first year, she won the Blumenthal Scholarship for composition, which entitled her to another three years o

Dumitru Georgescu Kiriac

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dumitru Georgescu Kiriac (18 March 1866 – 8 January 1928) was a Romanian composer, conductor, and ethnomusicologist. He was particularly known for his sacred choral works and art songs which were based on the Romanian Orthodox tradition and Romanian folklore. Kiriac was born in Bucharest and began his musical studies at the Bucharest Conservatory (now the National University of Music) with Gheorghe Brătianu (1847–1905) and Eduard Wachmann (1836–1908). From 1892 to 1899 he studied in Paris with Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum de Paris and with Charles-Marie Widor and Gabriel Fauré at the Paris Conservatory. It was during this time that he began collecting Romanian children’s folk songs. On his return to Bucharest in 1900 he became a professor at the Bucharest Conservatory. The following year he founded the Romanian choral society, Carmen. Kiriac died in his native city at the age of 61. He was considered one of the founders of modern Romanian music. Festivalul Internaţional de Muzică Corală “D.G. Kiriac”, an international festival of sacred choral music held annually in the city of Pitești, is named in his honour as is the city’s male voice choir. References Further reading *

Duncan Druce

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Robert Duncan Druce (23 May 193913 October 2015) was an English composer, string player and musicologist, noted for his interest in early to contemporary music, as well as the music of India. Education and academic life Druce was born in Cheshire in 1939, the son of Robert Druce, a bacteriologist, and Katy Chesters. In 1957, he entered King’s College, Cambridge, which later awarded him a double first in music. Subsequently, he completed a Masters at the University of Leeds and, in 1984 embarked upon a second master’s degree, at the University of York, choosing the music of southern India as the topic of his thesis. In 1991, Druce stood down from his long-standing post as senior lecturer at Leeds University’s Bretton Hall Campus, to continue to work as a performer and composer. Druce lectured in composition part-time at the University of Huddersfield until his death. Druce married Clare Spalding in 1964. The couple had two daughters, Alison and Emily. His wife, daughters, four grandchildren, a great-grandson, and his sister Cathy survived him at the time of his death. In 1984, Druce finished a new completion of Mozart’s Requiem, which was performed at The Proms in 1991. This complet

Dušan Bogdanović

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dušan Bogdanović () (born 1955) is a Serbian-born American composer and classical guitarist. He has explored musical languages which are reflected in his style today: a synthesis of classical, jazz, and ethnic music. As a soloist and in collaboration with other artists, he has toured extensively throughout Europe, Japan, and the U.S. Milcho Leviev, Arto Tunçboyacıyan, and others. Notably, he is a co-author with Sting on “Prisms (Six Song by Sting)” published by Singidunum Music and Steerpike Overseas Limited. Dušan Bogdanović’s recording credits include close to twenty albums (on Intuition, Doberman, Ess.a.y, M.A. Recordings, GSP and other labels), ranging from Bach Trio Sonatas to contemporary works. Over two hundred of his compositions are published by Bèrben Editions (Italy), Doberman-Yppan (Canada) and Guitar Solo publications (San Francisco). His theoretical work includes polyrhythmic and polymetric studies, as well as a bilingual publication covering three-voice counterpoint and Renaissance improvisation for guitar (Bèrben) and Ex Ovo. (Doberman-Yppan). He has also collaborated on multi-disciplinary projects involving music, psychology, philosophy, and fine arts. Partial disc

Dušan Radić

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dušan Radić (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан Радић; 10 April 1929 – 3 April 2010) was a Serbian composer, university professor, and a full member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA, SANU in Serbian). Biography Radić was born in Sombor. He completed elementary and high school sophomore year in his birthplace Sombor. He concurrently attended the music school of the Serbian Church Singing Society. He relocated to Belgrade in 1941 where he continued education at the Second men’s gymnasium and the “Stanković” music school. He matriculated at the Belgrade Academy of music (now Faculty of music, University of Arts in Belgrade) in 1946 in the composition class of Milenko Živković, who acted as his mentor until 1954. Since 1957 Radić studied in Paris with Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen, completing, upon return, a master’s degree in 1962 with Živković as his adviser. In early student works Radić demonstrated his innovative tendencies in the quest for expressive means different than those exhibited in the late Romanticism and soc-realism. While his melodies reveal their “origins in our lands,” Radić rarely resorts to direct quotations of folk tunes, and by frequently treating voca

Dušan Trbojević

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dušan Trbojević (June 13, 1925 – September 9, 2011) was a Serbian pianist, composer, musical writer and university professor. Education Trbojević was born in Maribor, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He studied composition with Milenko Živković at the Belgrade Music Academy, and piano with Milanka Đaja at the same institution. He graduated in 1951 (Piano Performance) and 1953 (Composition) and continued his studies of piano with Kendall Taylor at the Royal College of Music and Royal Academy of Music in London (1954–1957). Additionally, he studied in the U.S. (1965–1966). Performing career Trbojević has performed actively as a soloist, accompanist and conductor throughout Europe, as well as in the U.S., China, India, Iran, Egypt, Cuba, Mexico. He gave the first performances of compositions by eminent Serbian composers Vlastimir Peričić, Milutin Radenković, Vasilije Moktanjac, Petar Ozgijan and Žarko Mirković. Teaching career Trbojević was Professor of Piano at the University of Arts in Belgrade Faculty of Music, University of Novi Sad Academy of Arts and University of Titograd Academy of Music. His former students include many prominent pianists including Rita Kinka. Compositi

Dusepo

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jo Dusepo, better known simply as Dusepo, is a luthier, multi-instrumentalist musician, ethnomusicologist, composer, radio host, sound engineer and producer from London, England. From November 2014 to 2017, she was a radio host on K2K Radio in Kilburn, west London. Luthier Jo Dusepo has worked as a luthier since 2008, and specialises in world and historical stringed instruments, including mandolins, citterns and others. Musical styles Many of her earlier music 2006–2010 was ambient, electronic music and dub in style, apart from the 2008 album Blue & Purple, which was minimalism. Since 2012, most of her music has been classical music, folk music, world music and acoustic music. She has sung in English, German, Spanish, Romanian and Esperanto, and also worked as a sound engineer and producer for other artists. References

Duval Timothy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Duval Kojo Bankole Timothy (born 2 October 1989) is a pianist, composer, and music producer based in London, England and Freetown, Sierra Leone. He has released four solo albums, an EP titled 2 Sim in 2018, and the split album Son with Rosie Lowe in 2021. His music incorporates themes of hip hop, nu jazz, and postminimalism. He has produced songs for a variety of artists including Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Vegyn, Nosaj Thing, Mount Kimbie, Mr. Mitch, and Loyle Carner. Timothy is also an avid photographer, videographer, visual artist, and cook. Career Timothy wrote and recorded his first album DUKOBANTI while in school in 2012. In 2016, he released his second album Brown Loop with I Should Care Records. The album was out of print for several years before being re-released in 2020 under his personal label. During the period of 2011 to 2016, Timothy and collaborators Folayemi Brown and Jacob Fodio Todd ran a pop-up restaurant called The Groundnut in South London, serving sub-Saharan African dishes twice a month. In 2015, Timothy, Brown, and Todd published The Groundnut Cookbook through Penguin, which features recipes served at the restaurant. His third album Sen Am was released in 2017