Yesterday was the birthday of composer of contemporary classical music and writer, Ned Rorem. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was considered the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Frequently described as a neoromantic composer, he showed limited interest in the emerging modernist aesthetic of his lifetime. As a writer, he kept—and later published—numerous diaries in which he spoke candidly of his exchanges and relationships with many cultural figures of America and France.
Born in Richmond, Indiana, to parents of Norwegian descent, in 1923, Rorem found an early interest in music, studying with Margaret Bonds and Leo Sowerby. He developed a strong enthusiasm for French music and received mentorship from Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson, among others. In France, he was influenced by the neoclassicist group Les Six, particularly Francis Poulenc and Darius Milhaud, and Impressionists such as Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.
He described his background as "upper middle-class, semi-bohemian with a strong Quaker emphasis". Though not musicians themselves, his parents were enthusiastic about the arts, and brought their children to numerous concerts by the famous pianists and dancers. Much of his life was spent with his lifelong partner James Holmes, between his apartment in New York and house in Nantucket.
Net links:
YouTube links:
Les Six -
Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel (Complete ballet) (1921)
Germaine Tailleferre:
Styrous® ~ Saturday October 24, 2026
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