Gretchen Ehrenberg:

>Is it just me?  I don't "get" Ned Rorem.  I tried so hard to like the
>organ pieces and some of the songs, but I just find myself at a loss.
>If there is a recommendation for a Rorem skeptic, please offer it.

I don't know much of Rorem's music, but do like his Violin Concerto.
It's a rather reserved work that seems to verge on the placid, yet it's
got a gentle beauty that raises it well above that.  In several parts,
the violin has moments of lyrical depth; also, the sparing use of the
percussion can be grotesque and ominous, even deliciously threatening,
suggesting a certain hidden wildness.

Bert Bailey