Dennis Riley (28 May 1943 – 6 May 1999) was an American composer whose style extends from early
Webernesque music to a later embrace of
Neo-Romanticism.
He was born in
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, his family moving in 1950 to
Lakewood, CO. At the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...
his teachers included
Storm Bull
Storm Bull (October 13, 1913 – July 22, 2007) was an American musician, composer and educator. He was Professor Emeritus at the College of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder and Head of the Division of Piano.
Background
Johan Storm Bul ...
. He received a Master of Music in composition (1968) from the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
, and a Ph.D. in composition (1973) from the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
, where some of his teachers were
George Crumb
George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...
and
Ben Johnston. He taught at
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
(1971—74), and
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
(1974—77). He died of
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
in New York.
His large oeuvre, almost all published by
C. F. Peters
Edition Peters is a classical music publisher founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1800.
History
The company came into being on 1 December 1800 when the Viennese composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) and the local organist Ambrosius Kühne ...
, includes two operas with libretti by
Joseph Pazillo: ''Rappaccini’s Daughter'' (1981–84), after
the Hawthorn's story and ''Cats’ Concert'' (1983), a
children's opera. He was notable as a very early adopter of
score writing software.
Sources
* .
External links
Guggenheim fellows bioPartial listing of C. F. Peters editionsBiography and description of papers
at The American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...
NYT obitRecollection by his daughter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Dennis
1943 births
1999 deaths
American classical composers