Scope and Content Note
The papers of David Diamond contain correspondence, writings, financial papers, clippings, photographs, music manuscripts, and other materials that span a period from 1915 to 2003. The correspondence ranges from 1928 to 2000, and the most prolific correspondents were the Cuomo and Elliott families. Other significant correspondents include his sister Sabina Cohen, American scholar William Ferris, composer Francis Thorne, and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). The journals series contains leather-bound diaries that Diamond used to chronicle his daily life from 1939 to 2001. Entries include his reflections and thoughts on his musical compositions and performances, religion and human nature, financial woes, and enduring friendships with Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Ciro Cuomo. Approximately 65 years of written remarks constitute the notebooks series wherein Diamond regularly tracked his stream of consciousness and random musings. The subject files, which include correspondence, financial papers, programs, clippings, and broadsides, are an all-inclusive amalgam of items organized and filed by Diamond.
Diamond’s writings primarily consist of pedagogical materials he prepared while serving as a professor at various institutions. Because of his extensive stay in Italy, many of his lectures are in English and Italian. In addition to academic addresses, there are also interview transcripts, eulogies he wrote for musical notables such as Peter Mennin and Bernard Rogers, and Diamond’s poems as well as texts authored by others. The libretti/lyrics series primarily comprises texts, synopses of novels, and ballets that Diamond either scored or endeavored to do so. Approximately twenty percent of the materials are associated with the novels “Billy Budd” by Herman Melville and “Wings of the Dove” by Henry James, while Diamond's opera “The Noblest Game" makes up another third of the series. Income tax documents from 1943 to 2000 comprise the majority of his financial papers. Other documents include royalty records, commissions, donations, invoices, and city and county tax forms.
The clippings series ranges from the mid-1930s to the mid-2000s and is divided by decade. Each ten-year span chiefly consists of highlights from Diamond’s career but also include advertisements, current events, and other artists and musicians. The photographs span the years 1917 to 2001 and are a mix of loose photos and photos bound in albums. The primary medium is black and white, and one third of these images are professional studio portraits of the composer. Other individuals that are frequently portrayed include his sister Sabina Cohen, Leonard Bernstein, Ciro Cuomo, and members of the Elliott family. The scrapbooks primarily document Diamond's academic and early musical careers. The bulk of the series comprises recital programs and announcements, followed by publications lauding his compositions, award receptions, and school report cards.
Diamond's original compositions are represented by holograph manuscript pencil score drafts, sketches, and parts. These include materials for all eleven of his symphonies and countless other symphonic, chamber, and vocal works, such as Symphony No. 4 (1945), the Grammy-nominated String Quartet No. 4 (1951), Elegy in Memory of Maurice Ravel (1938), and Rounds (1944). Many of these same works appear in a chronological run of more than forty sketchbooks dating from 1935 to 2000. Container list entries include information regarding text setting and dedication when known - works by E. E. Cummings, Herman Melville, James Joyce, and other influential poets often served as the basis for Diamond's songs. Also present within the music series are Diamond's arrangements of works by Maurice Ravel, Eric Satie, and others, as well as his early harmony exercises and a number of inscribed scores from notable composers.
Diamond received many awards and certificates throughout his life, and the certificates span 67 of the composer’s 89 years, illustrating his commitment to scholarship in classical music and his perpetuation of the genre. The eleven posters primarily promote both Diamond's teaching engagements and his musical performances. The autobiographical material includes early drafts of Diamond’s autobiography, “The Midnight Sleep.” Begun in 1946 and completed in 1988, the final copy of this personal narrative is retained by the estate of David Diamond.