Composer Dominick Argento has passed away at age 91.

Born in 1927 in York Pennsylvania, the composer would earn both his Bachelor and Master’s degrees from the Peabody Conservatory. He then got a Ph. D. from the Eastman School of Music, followed by Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships that enabled him to study in Italy. From there he became the music director of Hilltop Opera and would become a professor at Eastman. In 1958, he joined the faculty at University of Minnesota, teaching until 1997.

He would become well-known for his vocal writing, which encompassed 13 operas and a number of choral works. Among his operas are “The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe,” “Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night,” “Casanova’s Homecoming,” “The Dream of Valentino,” and “Postcard from Morocco.”

He also wrote numerous song cycles, including “From the Diary of Virginia Woolf” for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1975. In 1979, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Here is a recording of “From the Diary of Virginia Woolf.”