Facing the night a diary (1999-2005) and musical writings / Ned Rorem.
| Author/creator | Rorem, Ned |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Emeryville, CA : Shoemaker & Hoard, ©2006. |
| Description | vii, 242 pages ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Scattered notes -- Part I. From a diary (1999-2005) -- Part II. Collected writings (1993-2006). Notes on Marc ; Perceiving Franco ; Morton Gould ; Random notes for a sketch of Alan Ginsberg ; Louise Talma ; Re: Glenn Gould ; Composition today ; Julian Green ; For Judy Collins, at the players club ; On Gore Vidal: a Biography ; Opening remarks as president at the American Academy of arts and letters, 2000 ; American song at the Millennium ; Aaron's songs ; Women and minorities in contemporary American Classical music ; On learning of Paul Bowles's death ; A few words on Ned O'Gorman's New and Selected Poems ; On Charles Ives ; Re: visible man ; Re: defining opera ; For Robert Starer ; For Morris Golde's memorial ; The intelligence quotient ; For John Corigliano at the National Arts club ; Opening remarks as president at the academy, 2002 ; Henry Cowell ; For Lou Harrison ; Foreword to A Pocketful of Music ; On becoming a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres ; Re: Dylan's Vision of Sin ; "With more than love" ; For Phyllis Curtin ; For Edward Field and The Man Who Would Marry Susan Sontag ; Re: new overtures ; On David Diamond ; On the modern listener ; My music and politics ; What does music mean? ; George Rochberg -- Part III. Composer's program notes (1974-2006). Air Music: ten variations for orchestra ; Violin concerto ; The Auden Poems for voice, violin, cello, and piano ; The Third Quartet ; Fourth String Quartet ; Evidence of Things Not Seen ; Double concerto for violin and cello with orchestra ; Another Sleep ; For Our Town. |
| Abstract | Beginning with The Paris Diary in 1966 and continuing through four subsequent volumes, Ned Rorem, one of the world's foremost living composers, has chronicled his life with a directness and honesty rare in American letters. He writes as he lives, introducing himself to readers as an artist and as a gay man, a citizen of the world of the arts, as at home in Rome or Paris as he is in New York. But in this latest installment, Rorem finds himself alone after the death of Jim Holmes, his companion of 32 years. Grief-stricken, he struggles to find his way in the world, while seeing his 80th birthday celebrated nationwide with concerts and programs befitting a celebrity. As he heals, Rorem starts to snap with his usual sharp observations, riffing on topics as diverse as defining opera for the New York Times and considering personalities as famous as Judy Collins and Gore Vidal. With his typical (some might even say brutal) candor, disarming wit, and self-knowledge, Rorem once again provides insightful reflections in elegant prose that demonstrates his ease in a form few writers dare to brave. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 2006021538 |
| ISBN | 1593760884 |
| ISBN | 9781593760885 |