# David Del Tredici ![David Del Tredici](/sites/g/files/omnuum3121/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/fromm/files/david_del_tredici_1.jpg?itok=F-wJgN-B) laptop\_windows Title: *I Hear An Army*, for soprano and string quartet Commission: Completed: 1964 Instrumentation: soprano and string quartet Premiere Location: Tanglewood Music Center, MA Premiere Ensemble: Notes: With the appearance in 1976 of *Final Alice*, David Del Tredici’s hour-long setting of Lewis Carroll for high soprano and large orchestra, a new movement in music, Neo-Romanticism, was born. Not only did Del Tredici forge for himself a fresh compositional path, but at the same time gave hope to a generation of young composers seeking a new way of composing. “Del Tredici,” said Aaron Copland, “is that rare find among composers—a creator with a truly original gift. I venture to say that his music is certain to make a lasting impression on the American musical scene. I know of no other composer of his generation who composes music of greater freshness and daring, or with more personality.” *Final Alice* is but one of a number of *Alice in Wonderland* settings written over a span of more than 25 years (1968–1995). *Final Alice* was followed by *In Memory of a Summer Day*, which was awarded the 1980 Pulitzer Prize in Music. Both *Final Alice* and *In Memory of A Summer Day* became best-selling classical music recordings. A word on the chronology: preceding the two mammoth works mentioned above there was *Pop-Pourri* (1968), *An Alice Symphony* (1969), *Adventures Underground* (1971) and *Vintage Alice* (1972), and afterwards came *Quaint Events*, *Happy Voices*, and *All in the Golden Afternoon* (these three works in combination with *In Memory of a Summer Day* comprise the evening-long *Child Alice* \[1977–1981\]). *Haddocks’ Eyes* appeared in 1985, and the last work in the series, the 90-minute opera *Dum Dee Tweedle* (1990–1995) was premiered in concert form by Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony. - ## Completion Date [1964](/completiondate/1964) - ## Composer [Del Tredici, David](/composer/del-tredici-david) - ## Commissions [Past Commissions](/pastcommisions)