Thomas DeLio (born January 7, 1951) is an American composer, music theorist and author. He is currently Professor of Music in theory and composition at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Biography DeLio received a bachelor of music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Robert Cogan. He received a Ph.D. from Brown University in a Special Interdisciplinary Studies program that allowed him to combine advanced studies in music, visual arts, and mathematics.
DeLio's works are published by Editore Semar (Europe), Silent Editions (United States) and Sonic Art Editions (United States) and are recorded on such labels as Wergo, 3D Classics, Neuma, Centaur, Capstone, and Spectrum. He has published over thirty scholarly papers in such journals and periodicals as Perspectives of New Music, Journal of Music Theory, Indiana Theory Review, In Theory Only, Interface, Contemporary Music Review, Artforum, Computer Music Journal, Revue d'esthétique, and Percussive Notes.
DeLio has also written books, including one analyzing the work of Morton Feldman (The Music of Morton Feldman) and another offering analysis of several "open form" works (Circumscribing the Open Universe). His book "The Amores of John Cage" was published by Pendragon Press (as part of the College Music Society series Sourcebooks in American Music) in 2010. A book about DeLio's work entitled Thomas DeLio: Composer and Scholar edited by Dr. Thomas Licata (Professor, Hartwick College) appeared in summer of 2007 from the Mellen Press. This book contains essays by Wesley Fuller (Professor Emeritus, Clark University), Agostino Di Scipio (Professor, University of Naples, Italy), Christopher Shultis (Regents Professor, University of New Mexico), Hermann Sabbe (Professor of Musicology, Ghent University, Belgium), Morris Palter (University of California, San Diego), Steven Johnson (Professor, Brigham Young University), Robert Morris (Professor, Eastman School of Music), Tracy Wiggins (University of North Carolina at Pembroke), Linda Dusman, Thomas Goldstein (Professors, University of Maryland, Baltimore County) and Michael Boyd (Chatham University) .
Influences DeLio's approach to composition is largely influenced by Morton Feldman, John Cage, and Iannis Xenakis. The influence of Xenakis, however, is often more philosophical than musical. Describing the influence of Xenakis and Feldman, DeLio explains:
Xenakis and Feldman are influences in the general sense that they each tap into very personal and unique sensibilities; in this sense they should be role models for all composers. Also, for these composers, sound is the source of the compositional process. Sound, in all its richness and complexity, is the essence of that process for both – not system of method or gesture, as is the case for so many composers. This is true for me as well. First and foremost I think about sound when I start a piece.
The primary area where Xenakis and DeLio differ is in the use of mathematics, which is integral in Xenakis's compositions. DeLio states, "My music is not really mathematical at all!."
The influence of Cage is evident in DeLio's use of sounds outside of the standard dodecaphonic system. "Prior to the 20th century", DeLio notes, "the sonic materials of Western music were restricted to a set of twelve pitch classes. Over the course of the past hundred years, this restriction has virtually disappeared." Elsewhere, DeLio describes his attraction to percussion instruments, explaining, "Percussion allows a composer to deal with sounds drawn from the entire pitch/noise continuum. Thus, pitch is one manifestation of all sound ranging from pure tones to noise bands." Cage was a pioneer in this area, writing for a wide variety of percussion instruments, electronic devices, and even household objects to produce new sounds. Composers like DeLio are heavily indebted to his work.
Another area where the influences of Cage and Feldman are strongly felt is in DeLio's extensive use of silence as a compositional device. On the surface, in fact, DeLio's music bears a strong resemblance to the music of Cage and Feldman, both of whom made extensive use of sparse textures and were not afraid to use silence as a key part of their compositions. Upon further examination, however, one finds that the function of silence in music varies significantly among the three composers. Feldman, for example used silence to separate sounds and give them space to fade into silence. DeLio notes, "Feldman once said that one of the most beautiful things a sound does is decay. He could have added that in order for this decay to be felt, it must be attached to silence." Cage, on the other hand, used silence as a compositional tool for incorporating unintentional, atmospheric sounds into the context of a musical composition. DeLio explains, "Cage, of course, is the real source of all consideration of silence in music. But even his approach to silence is not like mine – though I deeply admire his work. For Cage silence is the space in which all unintended sounds come into play." DeLio's use of silence is different in that it is used to isolate sounds and events. He explains:
While this may sound similar to Feldman's use of silence, DeLio's approach is more radical, using large units of silence to not only isolate the events sonically, but also to isolate them mentally, leaving so much space that the memory will often forget one gesture before the next is presented, essentially forcing the listener to evaluate them as separate, unrelated musical entities. DeLio explains:
Compositional style
The most striking aspect of DeLio's music is his use of silence. His pieces include large sections of silence, sometimes a full minute. In fact, in many of his compositions the time devoted to silence is greater than the time devoted to sonic events. By isolating events and frustrating the memory, DeLio attempts to draw the listener into more intently listening to the brief sonic events. "I argue for wiping the slate clean", DeLio explains, "Rediscovering sound beneath all of the rhetoric and dated mannerisms which have accumulated over so many years and, in the process, really coming to grips with the nature of our own experience."
Another important aspect is his sense of time. In a majority of his pieces, he uses the same tempo, 60 beats per minute. Within this tempo, however, he uses a wide variety of subdivisions, including division of the beat into 5 or 7, and the pulse is rarely, if ever, clearly defined. 60 beats per minute is essentially the same as one beat per second, and DeLio thinks of time in his instrumental works as one would in tape composition: All events are measured against a temporal grid of minutes and seconds. DeLio's tempo is static, merely a reference for the performer. Instead of altering tempo, DeLio uses rhythmic devices to create effect within a constant pulse.
Bibliography Biographical citations The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1999–2000 edition) Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, eighth edition
Complete and up to date information and citations regarding publications, recordings, compositions, reviews, etc. will be found on Thomas DeLio's website
Books (subject) Essays on the Music and Theoretical Writings of Thomas DeLio, Contemporary American Composer, Michael Boyd, ed. (Edwin Mellen Press, 2008) contains papers by leading composers and scholars from Europe and the United States including Herman Sabbe (Professor, Ghent State University, Belgium), Robert Morris (Professor, Eastman School of Music), Agostino di Scipio (Professor, University of Bari, Italy); Christopher Shultis (Regents Professor, University of New Mexico), Wesley Fuller (Professor Emeritus, Clark University), Morris Palter (Professor, University of Alaska), Linda Dusman (Professor, University of Maryland Baltimore County).
Books (author) Circumscribing the Open Universe (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1983). L'Universo Aperto, Italian translation of Circumscribing the Open Universe (Rome: Semar Editore, 2001) The Amores of John Cage, as part of the College Music Society series Sourcebooks in American Music, (Pendragon Press: 2010). Analytical Studies of the Music of Ashley, Cage, Carter, Dallapiccola, Feldman, Lucier, Reich, Satie, Schoenberg, Wolff, and Xenakis, Collected Essays Volume I (1980–2000), Patricia Burt, ed.; Edwin Mellen Press
Books (editor and contributor) The Music of Morton Feldman (London: Greenwood Press, 1996); contributions – Introduction; "Last Pieces"; Bibliography; Discography. Contiguous Lines; Issues and Ideas in the Music of the 60s and 70s (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1985); contributions – Introduction; "The Dialectics of Structure and Materials: Iannis Xenakis' Nomos Alpha"; "Sound, Gesture and Symbol".
Books (co-editor with Stuart Smith) Twentieth Century Music Scores (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.; 1989). Words and Spaces (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1989); contributions – Introduction; "Sound Installation: The Strathmore Hall Art Center".
Essays "A Web of Words: Elliott Carter's End of a Chapter" (College Music Symposium, vol. 56, 2016). "(ex)Congruities" (The Contemporary Music Review, vol. 34, nos. 5–6, 2016), pp. 478–492. "Introduction: Music/Text", (The Contemporary Music Review, vol. 34, nos. 5–6, 2016), pp. 367–372. "The Marvelous Illusion: Morton Feldman's The Viola in My Life (1)", (London: The Contemporary Music Review, vol. 23, no. 6, 2013), pp. 589–638. "Dis-moi, Daphénéo: Erik Satie's Path to Modernism", (College Music Symposium, vol. 51, 2011) "The Open Universe, Revisited", Thomas DeLio: Composer and Scholar (Edwin Mellen Press, 2007), pp. 223–230. Introduction, Mind Models (second edition), Roger Reynolds. (New York: Routledge, 2005), pp. vii–xiv. "The Sonic Landscape: Bewegt by Anton Webern", Thomas DeLio: Composer and Scholar (Edwin Mellen Press, 2006). "su una nota sola: Giacinto Scelsi's Quattro Pezzi, No. 3", Thomas DeLio: Composer and Scholar (Edwin Mellen Press, 2006). "Iannis Xenakis' Diamorphoses", Electroacoustic Music: Analytical Perspectives, Thomas Licata, ed. (New York: Greenwood Press, 2002), pp. 41–57. "Xenakis", Perspectives of New Music (vol. 39, no. 1; Winter 2001), pp. 231–243. "A Question of Order: Cage, Wolpe, and Pluralism", The New York Schools of Music and Visual Arts, Steven Johnson, ed. (London: Routledge, 2002), . "On Christian Wolff" (English, French and German translations), Christian Wolff (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Etcetera Recordings, KTC 1227, 2000). "Robert Ashley", Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Ludwig Finscher, ed. (Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag, 1999). "Last Pieces, #3", The Music of Morton Feldman, Thomas DeLio, ed. (London: Greenwood Press, 1996), pp. 39–68. "Language and Form in an Early Atonal Composition: Schoenberg's Op. 19, No. 2", Indiana Theory Review (vol. 15, no. 2; Fall, 1994), pp. 17–20. "Time Transfigured: Erik Satie's Parade", The Contemporary Music Review (London: vol. 7, no. 2, 1993), pp. 141–162. "The Complexity of Experience", Perspectives of New Music (vol. 31, no. 1, 1993; pp. 64–77). "contrecoup...: Nonlinearity and Computer Aided Composition", Interface (Brussels: vol. 20, 1991), pp. 153–163. "An Exercise: Dismantling the Silence", Interface (Brussels: vol. 18, no. 3, 1989), pp. 195–217. "Sound Installation: The Strathmore Hall Art Center", Words and Spaces, Thomas DeLio and Stuart Smith, editors (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1989), pp. 197–207. "Structure and Strategy: Iannis Xenakis' Linaia-Agon", Interface (Brussels: vol. 16, no. 3, 1987), pp. 143–164. "A Proliferation of Canons II: Luigi Dallapiccola's Goethe Lieder, No. 6", Interface (Brussels: vol. 16, nos. 1–2, 1987), pp. 38–47. "A Proliferation of Canons: Luigi Dallapiccola's Goethe Lieder No. 2,” Perspectives of New Music (vol. 23, no. 2, 1985), pp. 186–195.