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Donald Macleod follows Rorem’s career and personal life in his final decades.

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.

During the last few decades of his life, Ned Rorem continued to compose music. He wrote a number of concertos and, in 2005, composed his eighth opera, Our Town. At the age of 80 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which took him by surprise. His former college, the Curtis Institute, also put on a two-week festival of his music called Roremania. During his final years in New York, his niece, Mary Marshall, cared for Rorem. He’d go for short walks in Central Park, and would enjoy visitors bringing him biscuits and cakes. Rorem died in November 2022, not quite reaching his 100th birthday.

United States: Seven Viewpoints for String Quartet (excerpt)
Ying Quartet

Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra (Recurring Dream)
Thomas Stacy, English Horn
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Michael Palmer, conductor

Our Town (excerpt)
Margot Rood (Emily Webb), soprano
Krista River (Mrs Gibbs), mezzo-soprano
Glorivy Arroyo (Mrs Soames), mezzo-soprano
Matthew DiBattista (stage Manager), tenor
Stanley Wilson (Simon Stimson), tenor
Monadnock Music
Gill Rose, conductor

For Six Friends
Carolyn Enger, piano

Four Prayers
Fenwick Smith, flute
Mihae Lee, piano

From An Unknown Past
Brian Asawa, countertenor
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Jeffrey Kahane, 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.