Don Dilworth (1939- )
A
self-taught composer, Don Dilworth's career has encompassed both folk
music and contemporary concert music, ballet, and opera. An aspiring
composer from grade school, he was proficient in both folk and
classical guitar by the time he entered college at M.I.T. as a physics
major. This coincided with the late-'50s folk music boom, which was
particularly vibrant in Boston. While attending M.I.T., he was a
regular patron at Club 47, a venue that became one of the leading
showcases for new folk music talent, including Joan Baez, Noel Paul
Stookey, Eric Von Schmidt, and the Charles River Valley Boys, and he
later started playing guitar there on occasion. Baez became a
particularly big fan of Dilworth's playing and later asked him to
perform at her sister's wedding. Shortly after Baez signed with
Vanguard Records and left Boston, Dilworth gave her the gift of a song,
Annabel Lee,
based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe. Baez later recorded the song in
an arrangement by Peter Schickele on her album Joan (1967).
Apart from some instruction from Gregory Tucker at M.I.T. and Nicolai
Martinov of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, Dilworth
remained almost entirely self-taught as a composer and musician. Based
in Maine, he has written seven operas, several songs cycles, and a
considerable body of chamber music, as well as works for synthesizer
and cello.- Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
COMPOSITIONS Dilworth Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre
Five Songs to Poems of William Blake, voice and piano (1994)
String Quartet (1996)
The Brothers of Judar, ballet (2000)
The Ms. Seattle Skyline Contest, musical (2003)
Annabel Lee Variations, mezzo-soprano, harp, horn, English horn (2003)
Rasputin, opera (2005)
Seven Attitudes for Clarinet and Piano (2005)
The Decision, one-act opera (2006)
The Inca, opera (2006)
Sanskrit Love Poems from Classical India (39 songs), mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano (2006)
Songs from a Wayside Inn (5 songs), Volume 1, voice and piano (2007) [text: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]
Songs from a Wayside Inn (4 songs), Volume 2, chorus (2007) [text: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]
Rostam, opera (2008)
The Love Machine, comic opera (2010)
Top Secret, one-act opera (2010)
WORKS BY GENRE Dilworth Links ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
The Ms. Seattle Skyline Contest, musical (2003)
Rasputin, opera (2005)
The Decision, one-act opera (2006)
The Inca, opera (2006)
Rostam, opera (2008)
The Love Machine, comic opera (2010)
Top Secret, one-act opera (2010)
Ballet
The Brothers of Judar, ballet (2000)
Choral
Songs from a Wayside Inn (4 songs), Volume 2, chorus (2007) [text: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]
- Burial of the Minnisink
- The Day is Done
- Twiilight
- Torquemada
Chamber
String Quartet (1996)
Seven Attitudes for Clarinet and Piano (2005)
Vocal
Five Songs to Poems of William Blake, voice and piano (1994)
- Song
- The Clod and the Pebble
- The Sick Rose
- The Fly
- The Tyger
Annabel Lee Variations, mezzo-soprano, harp, horn, English horn (2003)
Sanskrit Love Poems from Classical India (39 songs), mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano (2006)
Songs from a Wayside Inn (5 songs), Volume 1, voice and piano (2007) [text: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]
- The Open Window
- The Emperor's Bird's Nest
- The Children's Hour
- It is Not Always May
- Snowflakes
DILWORTH LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
Shah-Nameh's Rostam & Sohrab: Something to Sing About (Shahram Sadri, The Iranian)
Composer's website . . . contact Don Dilworth: dondilworth@myfairpoint.net
Dilworth @ AllAboutOpera.com
Dilworth @ American Music Center
Dilworth @ Answers.com
Dilworth @ Linda Rimel/Songs and Dramatic Works
Dilworth @ NewMusicBox
Dilworth @ Opera America
Dilworth @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Dilworth @ Second Hand Songs
Publisher
Dilworth @ composer's website
Streaming Audio
Dilworth @ composer's website
Video
[none at the moment]
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