Annual American Composers Update
Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem's 15th book,
Dear Paul Dear Ned, the
1949-95 correspondence of Paul Bowles and Rorem, has been
published in an Elysium Press deluxe edition. Commissioned
by the Library of Congress's McKim Fund,
Autumn Music,
for violin and piano, was used for the Violin Competition
of Indianapolis, September 1997. Rorem reports that "the
sole bright side" of his 75th birthday, in 1998, is the
opportunity for special performances.
Premieres
Beginning Jan. 22, 1998 at the New York (NY) Festival
of Song, at Weill Hall,
Evidence of Things not Seen,
36 songs for four voices, the composer's largest work,
lasting a whole evening, was heard first, to be followed
by performances at the Library of Congress, one of the
co-commissioners (April 1998), and elsewhere across the
country. Organist Eileen Hunt presented
Conversations,
commissioned by and first performed at the American Guild
of Organist national conference, held in Denver, June
29-30, 1997. Under Raymond Leppard, the Indianapolis Symphony,
with soloists Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson, introduced
Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, Oct. 15-17,
1997 in Indianapolis, and Oct. 22-24 in Scotland.
Performances
In 1998 Gary Graffman will play
Concerto for the Left-Hand
with Bloomstadt in San Francisco (Mar. 19-21) and then
in Zurich (Mar. 27). Also in 1998
Sunday Morning,
an orchestral suite in eight movements, will be heard
with Robert Spano and the Curtis Institute Orchestra (Mar.1),
and with the Manhattan School of Music Orchestra (Mar.
27). In Pittsburgh Robert Page will lead singers John
Shirley-Quirk and William Sharp and the Mendelssohn Choir
in
Goodbye My Fancy (text by Whitman), a 60-minute
oratorio for choir, orchestra, and two soloists, May 8,
1998.
Publications
All music listed here is published by
Boosey
& Hawkes.
Recordings
Concerto for English Horn; Thomas Stacy and the
Rochester Philharmonic;
New
World Records.
Fourth String Quartet; Emerson
Quartet;
EMI.
Six Variations for Two Pianos;
Phoenix
Records.
Women's Voices, cycle for soprano
and piano; Heidi Skok and Martin Hennessy;
Newport
Classics.
Further Information
