FAREWELL TO…

Ned Rorem

Born 1923 Composer

A composer and writer at the very heart of American music across generations, Ned Rorem could count some of the country’s greatest composers as mentors during his initial rise to prominence in the late 1940s. Born in Richmond, his early move to Chicago afforded him the chance to study, aged 15, at the city’s conservatory with Leo Sowerby. By 17 he enrolled in studies at Northwestern and at 19 he was awarded a scholarship to the Curtis Institute. He moved on to New York where he split his time between studies at Juilliard and a job/mentorship with Virgil Thomson – the summers of 1946 and ’47 were spent at Tanglewood with Aaron Copland. With foundations like these it’s no wonder he went on to become one of the country’s foremost musical voices, penning some 500 art songs, at least ten operas and countless other works. He lived in France for a long spell in the 1950s and was awarded a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2004 by the French government; that was just one of several major awards in his lifetime including, not least of all, the Pulitzer Prize in

1976 for Air Music.

Daniele Barioni

Born 1930 Tenor

A richly talented tenor, Barioni (pictured left with his wife, pianist Vera Franceschi) enjoyed success and recognition in the 1950s and ’60s, especially in the US. Born in Ferrara, Italy, he made his opera debut in a 1954 Milan production of Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, an opera he would appear in regularly all over the world. His 1956 US debut in New York was the start of seven seasons at The Met, including an appearance with Maria Callas in a 1958 production of Verdi’s La traviata. He would take on notable roles in some 31 operas on stages in Italy and across the globe.

Also remembered…

Branislav Hronec (born 1940) was a Slovak composer, pianist and conductor who founded the Braň Hronec Orchestra and was one of the country’s top television and theatre composers.

Italian composer Azio Corghi (born 1937 ) studied with Bruno Bettinelli and Guido Farina, wrote many operas and went on to teach at conservatories and academies across his home country.