大象传媒

Donald Macleod follows the decline of Rorem's partner James Holmes and its impact upon the composer.

Ned Rorem was an American composer and writer, and was hailed by some as the greatest art song composer of his time. Writing over 500 songs, his music has been described as neo-romantic, leaning at times towards a more lyrical nature. Early musical influences upon Rorem were Margaret Bonds, Virgil Thomson, Aaron Copland and also Arthur Honegger. After a period of living in Paris where he associated with members of Les Six, as well as frequent trips to Morocco, Rorem eventually settled back in the USA for the rest of his life. He went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his orchestral work, Air Music.

Rorem also wrote seventeen books, six of which were intimate diaries. These earned him a certain reputation from the 1960s onwards, particularly for his openness about his regular sexual encounters with men. During this period, Rorem also had issues with alcohol and drugs, but his life steadily settled when he entered into a long-term relationship with the composer and choral director James Holmes. They purchased a house together in Nantucket, and Rorem often relied upon Holmes for feedback concerning his own music.
Ned Rorem was interviewed by Donald Macleod for Composer of the Week back in 2003. There will be excerpts from this interview throughout the week.

Ned Rorem鈥檚 diaries in the 1990s are full of his concerns for his partner James Holmes. Holmes had a number of health concerns including cancer. He was also diagnosed as HIV positive. Holmes slept a great deal through his final years, but sometimes would be awake all night with a hacking cough. Rorem confided to his diaries how thin his partner was getting. Holmes died in 1999, and from that point onwards Rorem鈥檚 diary entries become less regular. During this period of personal tragedy, Rorem composed some of his best music including a Double Concerto for violin and cello. In interview Rorem said that he鈥檇 often ask James Holmes for his thoughts on his music. 鈥淗e was my best audience.鈥�

Spring Music (Bagatelle)
Beaux Arts Trio

String Quartet No 4 (Still Life)
Emerson String Quartet

More than a Day (excerpt)
Brian Asawa, countertenor
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Jeffrey Kahane, conductor

Evidence of things not seen (excerpt)
Tammy Tyburczy, soprano
Glen Alamilla, tenor
Mikael Eliasen, piano

Piano Album 1 (excerpts)
Carolyn Enger, piano

Double Concerto for Violin and Cello (excerpt)
Jaime Laredo, violin
Sharon Robinson, cello
IRIS Orchestra
Michael Stern, conductor

Produced by Luke Whitlock

Knowing When to Stop, published by Simon and Schuster; The Paris Diary and The New York Diary, published by Da Capo Press; The Later Diaries, published by Da Capo Press; The Nantucket Diary, published by North Point Press; Facing the Night, published by Shoemaker & Hoard; Lies, published by Counterpoint; Settling the score, published by Doubleday.