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5/5/2008 - NR Awarded 'Letter of Distinction' by the American Music Center Chelsea Art Museum, (c) NYvisual.com |
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Sarasota Opera Commissions Ned Rorem to Write Work for Sarasota Youth Opera Premiering in May 2009, the opera is based on Winsor McCay's comic strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland, which ran in the New York Herald and New York American newspapers from 1905 through 1913. The surreal, dark and sometimes violent cartoon follows the dreams of a boy who has been summoned by a king to be the "playmate" to his daughter. Though it didn't achieve the popularity of contemporaneous slapstick cartoons, the strip's illustrations and style influenced such artists as Moebius, Chris Ware, William Joyce and Maurice Sendak. more> |
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Our Town, New York City Premiere Pictured are Anne Manson, conductor, J.D. McClatchey, NR, cast members Alex Shrader, Jennifer Zetlan, and Alex Mansoori. Photo by Peter Schaaf Musical America: ''A New Opera Destined to Survive ... Juilliard's production ideally catches the deceptive simplicity of the piece. Edward Berkeley's direction is an artfully realized blend of imagined ritual and down-home realism, exactly right for this understated drama and perfectly complemented by the distantly remembered aura of small-town New England conjured up by John Kasarda's austere sets. The pin-point clarity and expressive power of Jennifer Zetlan's shining soprano made her a particularly appealing Emily and a vocal talent to watch, while Alek Shrader's evenly produced tenor and disarming presence suited George Gibbs, Emily's childhood sweetheart, to the ground.'' more> |
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New York City Premiere of documentary film Ned Rorem: Word and Music For more information contact directors James Dowell and John Kolomvakis at www.sleepinanestofflames.com 'In the act of stealing, the artist is so guilty that he tries to cover his tracks. The act of covering his tracks is the act of creation.' That barbed description of the artistic process is one of many pungent apercus offered by the composer and author Ned Rorem in James Dowell and John Kolomvakis's seldom-seen 2005 documentary of his life and times, ''NED ROREM: WORD AND MUSIC.'' A screening of the film will take place on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at the Walter Reade Theater, to coincide with the New York premiere performances of Mr. Rorem's opera ''Our Town'' at the Juilliard School. more> - Stephen Holden, New York Times |
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Naxos Releases World premiere Recording of Ned Rorem's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Cello Concerto This sixth disc of Rorem's music on Naxos' American Classics Series features conductor Jose Serebrier leading the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, pianist Simon Mulligan, and cellist Wenn-Sinn Yang. Amazon.com pick for 2007 top 25 classical music CDs more> |
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Lorena Feijoo and Davit Karapetyan dance in S.F. Ballet's premiere of Helgi Tomasson's On Common Ground. Music by Ned Rorem. more> |
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Classic Ned Rorem song LP reissued on Other Minds label In January 1964, one of the greatest recorded collections of American art songs ever issued appeared on Columbia Records. Songs of Ned Rorem, with the composer-pianist accompanying some of the best soloists of the day (Phyllis Curtin, Charles Bressler, Gianna d'Angelo, Donald Gramm, and Regina Sarfaty), catapulted the composer into the national spotlight. The poem settings ranged from Robert Herrick and Ben Jonson to Theodore Roethke and Elizabeth Bishop, and the cover (which OM has reproduced for the reissue) featured an extraordinary line drawing of Rorem by Jean Cocteau, printed in electric orange on a stark black background next to a photograph of the composer. Other Minds, in cooperation with Sony BMG, announces the first-ever appearance on CD of the complete collection, to be released on September 8, 2006. For a limited time, OM is offering a pre-release discounted price of $13.50 (reg. $15) for MindAlert readers who reserve a copy in advance. Don't miss this essential piece of American music history. Order today Ode to Gravity: Interview with Ned Rorem (1987) Ned Rorem reflects on his work and being an American composer in this re-broadcast of an Ode to Gravity program from November 16, 1987. Interviewers Charles Amirkhanian and Charlotte Observer critic and singer Fleur Paysour refer to Rorem's writings in The Nantucket Diary and The Paris Diary to discuss various topics, from setting poems and the decline of the art song to gender and race politics in music. Rorem gives his opinion of a number of 20th century poets and composers, and registers his distaste for "specialization" in American composition. He also shares anecdotes about his creative process. Listen free |
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Tanglewood Ballet set to NR's Violin Concerto The Royal Ballet November, December 2005, London June 20,21 2006, The Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. Choreographer Alastair Marriott "Tanglewood burst upon the space with breathtaking assurance" --Louise Levere/Sunday Telegraph |
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Ned Rorem at Home - featured rider interview on NewMusicBox.org at the American Music Center website. |
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The new Naxos CD of Ned Rorem's Flute and Violin Concertos, featuring Philadelphia Orchestra flutist Khaner, violinist Philippe Quint, conductor José Serebrier, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has received excellent critical response: |
 (Photo courtesy of Indiana University) |
(2006) NR at World Primiere of Our Town at Indiana University. Other productions of the opera were slated for Opera Boston, the Aspen Music Festival and School, North Carolina School of the Arts, Lake George Opera in Upstate New York, and Festival Opera in Walnut Creek, California. For more information, click here. |
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(2/27/06) New York Times — BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Feb. 25 — OUR TOWN WORLD PREMIERE "Aaron Copland wanted to make it an opera. So did Leonard Bernstein. But Thornton Wilder, the author of Our Town, turned both composers down. Now, 68 years after it was written and 30 years after Wilder's death, the play has made it to the opera stage. Our Town, with music by Ned Rorem and a libretto by J. D. McClatchy, received its premiere here on Friday evening by the Indiana University Opera Theater, one of six commissioners of this opera." more>>>. |
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(1/12/04) Ned, with Susan Graham, at the French Embassy. French Cultural Counselor Jean-Ren' Gehan presented Ned Rorem with the medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. |
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(12/9/03) Ned, with George Weiss and Lee Adams, having just received ASCAP's Lifetime Achievement Award at Lincoln Center. |
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(12/4/03) Backstage at the Philadelphia Orchestra, following the premiere of Ned's Flute Concerto, 4-6 December 2003. (l. to r.) Conductor Roberto Abbado, Ned, and soloist Jeffrey Khaner. |
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Susan Graham's CD of Ned's songs continues to perform well in stores. Click here to buy it online. |
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Rorem: Selected Songs Ned Rorem - piano, Eleanor Buchan - reader, Carole Farley, soprano Click here to buy it online. |
