Richard Donovan (composer)
Richard Frank Donovan (born November 29, 1891 in New Haven , Connecticut , † August 22, 1970 in Middletown , Connecticut) was an American composer, organist, conductor and music teacher.
Donovan studied from 1912 to 1914 at Yale University , then until 1918 at the Institute of Musical Arts in New York. In Paris he was a student of Charles-Marie Widor . From 1920 to 1923 he taught at the Taft School in Watertown and from 1923 to 1928 at Smith College in Northampton. From 1928 he was a member of the music faculty at Yale University. In 1940 he succeeded David Stanley Smith as dean of the faculty, and from 1954 until his retirement in 1960 he held a professorship. He also taught at the Institute of Musical Arts (1925–1928) and at New York's Finch College (1926–1940).
From 1928 to 1965 Donovan was the organist at Christ Church in New Heaven. He was also conductor of the Bach Cantata Club (from 1933 to 1944) and the New Heaven Symphony Orchestra (from 1936 to 1951), and in the 1936–1937 season he directed the New York Symphony Orchestra . He was instrumental in organizing the Yaddo Music Festival in Saratoga Springs. 1961–1962 he was President of the American Composers' Alliance .
As a composer, Donovan emerged with chamber music, vocal and orchestral works, including two symphonies, the overture New England Cronicle , the symphonic poem Smoke and Steel , songs, a mass and a magnificat.
Works
- Woodnotes for chamber orchestra, 1926
- How Far Is It to Bethlehem? for female voice and organ, 1927
- Chanson of the Bells of Oseney for female voice and piano, 1930
- Four Songs on English Texts for medium voice and piano, 1930
- Smoke and Steel , symphonic poem after Carl Sandburg , 1932
- Sextet for piano and woodwind, 1932
- Piano suite , 1932
- Five Elizabethan Lyrics for high soprano and string quartet, 1932–1937
- Four Songs for soprano and string quartet, 1933
- Symphony for chamber orchestra, 1937
- Piano trio , 1937
- Ricercare for oboe and strings, 1938
- Serenade for oboe and string trio, 1939
- Fantasy on American Folk Ballads for tenor and orchestra, 1940
- Suite for oboe and strings, 1944–1945
- Design for radio for 26 players, 1945
- New England Cronicle , Overture for Orchestra, 1946
- Two Choral Preludes on American Folk Hymns for Organ, 1947
- Hymn to the Night for female voice and piano, 1947
- How Should I LOve? for female voice and piano, 1947
- Good Ale for male voice and piano, 1947
- Passacaglia on Vermont Folk Tunes for orchestra, 1949
- Terzetto for two violins and viola, 1950
- Woodwind Quartet , 1953
- Four Songs og Nature for female voice and piano, 1953
- Soundings for trumpet, bassoon and percussion, 1953
- Piano suite , 1953
- Antiphon and chorale for organ, 1955
- Fair , 1955
- Symphony in D , 1956
- Fantasia for bassoon and seven players, 1960, 1961
- Music for Six for chamber ensemble, 1961
- Magnificat , 1961
- Epic for orchestra, 1963
- Piano Trio No. 2 , 1963
source
- Neil Butterworth: Dictionary of American Classical Composers , Revised Edition, Routledge 2013, ISBN 978-1-13679-024-9 , p. 124.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Donovan, Richard |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Donovan, Richard Frank (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American composer, organist, conductor and music teacher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 29, 1891 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Haven , Connecticut |
| DATE OF DEATH | 22nd August 1970 |
| Place of death | Middletown , Connecticut |