Richard Dufallo

American clarinetist, conductor and writer Richard Dufallo was born in Whiting, Indiana on 30 January 1933. He studied clarinet at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and then with Lukas Foss at UCLA.

He conducted many major orchestras in Canada, Europe and the USA, and premièred works by composers such as Jacob Druckman, Maxwell Davies, Penderecki and Stockhausen. In the 1950s and 60s he was assistant to Lukas Foss with the UCLA Symphony, also playing clarinet in Foss's chamber ensemble. As a former assistant conductor to the New York Philharmonic, Dufallo worked with Bernstein in the 1960s and 70s. Other appointments included the Aspen Festival, Colorado (artistic director of contemporary music) and the Buffalo Philharmonic (associate conductor).

As a conductor he had a broad repertoire, but is best known for his performances of modern music.

Richard Dufallo died in Denton, Texas on 16 June 2000, aged sixty-seven.