Ned Rorem, the American composer and diarist, handed away on November 18 at his house on Manhattan’s Higher West Aspect. He was 99.
Born in Richmond, Indiana, Rorem composed three symphonies, quite a few concertos, and different orchestral works, together with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Air Music (1974). Moreover, he contributed a number of operas, choral music, and chamber works. But, he can be remembered most because the composer of music. The esteemed choral conductor, Robert Shaw, declared Rorem to be “the best art-song composer of his time.” Rorem’s over 500 songs furthered the wealthy custom of composers equivalent to Schubert, Brahms, Hugo Wolf, Mahler, and Fauré into the 20th century. Ned Rorem will even be remembered for his revealed diaries, essays, and musical commentary.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Night
Right here is Ned Rorem’s 1947 setting of Robert Frost’s well-known poem. Flowing traces within the piano counsel the narrator’s solitary wanderings which embrace “miles to go earlier than I sleep.” The shake of harness bells will be heard in three vibrant chords.
Ferry Me Throughout the Water
Christina Rossetti’s haunting 1872 nursery rhyme comprises allusions to the voyage of the lifeless throughout the River Styx. Rorem’s quietly hypnotic setting is an excerpt from the 1981 cycle, The Nantucket Songs.
Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra: III. Recurring Dream
A songlike high quality will be heard within the instrumental works of Ned Rorem. Floating on a delicate, distant ostinato, Recurring Dream comes on the middle of Rorem’s five-movement Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra. The New York Philharmonic commissioned the Concerto to commemorate its sesquicentennial anniversary. It was premiered in 1994 by Thomas Stacy and the Philharmonic, below the path of Kurt Masur.
Right here is Stacy’s 1995 recording with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra:
Arguably, no artist grows up: If he sheds the perceptions of childhood, he ceases being an artist.
-Ned Rorem
Recordings
- Rorem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Night, Susan Graham, Malcolm Martineau Amazon
- Rorem: Ferry me throughout the water, Susan Graham, Malcolm Martineau Amazon
- Rorem: Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra, Thomas Stacy, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra newworldrecords.org
