This special presentation is underwritten by Cecilia Johnson and friends of the Rossini Club.
A tribute in film & music ~ From the provocative pages of composer/writer Ned Rorem’s 1950’s Paris Diary~ the dashing young artist’s self-portrait in words and music. Film by Susan Sandler and live performance by The Rossini Club.
~Live performance by The Rossini Club of early works by Ned Rorem: Pianist Wesley Ducote, soprano Christine Honein, clarinetist Nick Davies
“Ned Rorem’s diaries are an incomparable resource, certainly the fullest version of a composer’s daily life we have, and perhaps the most vivid self-portrait there is of a contemporary creative artist. Work and play, professional and social duties, the network of lovers and contacts, the underworld of desire and ambition, the buzz of scandal and rumor, the hangovers, the pettiness, the glamour, the bright rush of ideas.”
~ The Paris Review
Ned Rorem, hailed as “the world’s best composer of art songs” (Time magazine), is celebrated for his immense catalog of musical compositions, as well as his acclaimed body of literary writing: sixteen books, including five volumes of diaries and collections of lectures and criticism. Recipient of a Pulitzer Prize and GRAMMY Award—Rorem’s music includes three symphonies, four piano concertos, and an array of other orchestral works; music for numerous combinations of chamber music; ten operas; choral works of every description; ballets and other music for the theater; and literally hundreds of songs and cycles.
Susan Sandler’s work spans both fiction and non-fiction, including the screenplay for the Golden Globe nominated Crossing Delancey which she adapted from her own play of the same title and which recently joined the Criterion Collection; and the award-winning Friends At Last starring Kathleen Turner and Sarah Paulson, as well as projects for Sony, Twentieth Century Studios, Disney, TNT, and Columbia. She directed and produced the feature documentary Julia Scotti: Funny That Way, streaming now on Amazon and Apple TV. She is on the faculty of NYU Film & TV where she guides the Fusion Film Festival.
This event is free but please reserve your spot to join us here.