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Lowell Liebermann has written two full-length operas, both of which enjoyed enthusiastic recepiotns at their premieres. His first, The Picture of Dorian Gray , was the only American opera to be commissioned and premiered by L'Opéra de Monte-Carlo. His second opera, Miss Lonelyhearts, to a libretto by J.D. McClatchy after the novel by Nathanael West, was commissioned by The Juilliard School to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Among his orchestral works, Lowell Liebermann has composed two Symphonies - the second, with chorus, written for the centennial of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; a Concerto for Orchestra; three Piano Concertos; and Concertos for many other instruments. Piano Concerto No. 3, commissioned for pianist Jeffrey Biegel by a consortium of eighteen different orchestras, both here and abroad. Pianist Stephen Hough and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra presented Liebermann's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, which the orchestra commissioned to commemorate Raymond Leppard's farewell concert as music director. His Violin Concerto was commissioned and premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra, under the baton of Charles Dutoit, with soloist Chantal Juillet. The New York Philharmonic and principal trumpet Philip Smith presented the premiere of Mr. Liebermann's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, which The Wall Street Journal described as “balancing bravura and a wealth of attractive musical ideas to create a score that invites repeated listening. [Liebermann] is a masterful orchestrator, and just from this standpoint the opening of the new concerto is immediately arresting,” also noting that the “rousing conclusion brought down the house.”
In the realm of chamber music, Lowell Liebermann has composed four string quartets - the two most recent for the Ying and Orion quartets, respectively; four cello sonatas; two piano trios; sonatas for flute, violin, viola, flute and harp, and works for many other combinations.
Lowell Liebermann is also a noted performing pianist and has written a wealth of music for the solo instrument, much of which frequently appears on concert and competition programs. He was awarded the first American Composers' Invitational Award by the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition after the majority of finalists chose to perform his Three Impromptus, which were selected from works submitted by forty-two contemporary composers. In an interview with newscaster Sam Donaldson, Van Cliburn described Mr. Liebermann as “a wonderful pianist and a fabulous composer.”
Lowell Liebermann's Symphony No. 2 was premiered in February 2000 by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under the direction of Andrew Litton. Time magazine wrote, “Now brazen and glittering, now radiantly visionary, the Liebermann Second, a resplendent choral symphony, is the work of a composer unafraid of grand gestures and openhearted lyricism.” Mr. Litton and the DSO recorded the symphony and the Liebermann Concerto for Flute and Orchestra for Delos, with soloist Eugenia Zukerman. In February 2001, the Dallas Symphony gave the New York City premiere of Liebermann's Piano Concerto No. 2 at Carnegie Hall, with Stephen Hough as soloist. Stephen Wigler of The Baltimore Sun found the concerto to be “perhaps the best piece in the genre since Samuel Barber's concerto.” John Ardoin, of The Dallas Morning News, described the work as “more than a knockout; it is among the best works of its kind in this century.” Stephen Hough's recording of the concerto - conducted by the composer - received a 1998 Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
Sir James Galway has commissioned three works from Lowell Liebermann: Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra and Trio No. 1 for Flute, Cello and Piano. Mr. Galway premiered the flute concerto in 1992 with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the double concerto with The Minnesota Orchestra in 1995. That same year, Mr. Galway performed the flute concerto with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Galway recorded both works, along with Mr. Liebermann's Concerto for Piccolo and Orchestra, for BMG, conducted by the composer.
Lowell Liebermann served as Composer-in-Residence for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for four years. He filled the same role for Sapporo's Pacific Music Festival, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and many other organizations.
Lowell Liebermann’s music is widely represented on CD, with over sixty releases to date. Koch International Classics has released two discs in an ongoing series of his complete piano music, performed by David Korevaar, and a recording of his flute chamber music with flautist Alexa Still. Upcoming releases on that label include another chamber album, featuring his Piano Quintet and Clarinet Quintet, the latter with clarinetist Jon Manasse, a song disc and the complete cello music, performed by Andrés Díaz with Mr. Liebermann at the piano. Additional recordings of his music are available on the labels of Hyperion, Virgin Classics, Albany, New World Records, Arabesque, Centaur, Cambria, Musical Heritage Society, Intim Musik, Opus One and others.
Orchestras worldwide have performed Lowell Liebermann's works, including the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Tokyo’s NHK Symphony Orchestra, L'Orchestre National de France, and the symphonies of Dallas, Baltimore, Seattle, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Minnesota. Among the artists who have performed Mr. Liebermann's works are Sir James Galway, Charles Dutoit, Garrick Ohlsson, Andreas Delfs, the Beaux Arts Trio, Raymond Leppard,, Stephen Hough, Kurt Masur, Joshua Bell, the Orion String Quartet, Hans Vonk, Steven Isserlis, Andrew Litton, Susan Graham, David Zinman, Jesús López-Cobos, Paula Robison, Wolfgang Sawallisch, the Ying Quartet, Steuart Bedford and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.
Lowell Liebermann maintains an active performing schedule as pianist and conductor. He has collaborated with many distinguished artists, including flautists Sir James Galway and Jeffrey Khaner, violinists Chantal Juillet, Mark Peskanov, singers Robert White and Carole Farley and cellist Andrés Díaz. He performed the world premiere of Ned Rorem's Pas de Trois for Oboe, Violin and Piano at the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival. He made his Berlin Philharmonie debut, performing his Piano Quintet with members of the Berlin Philharmonic. In , 2006, on Mr. Liebermann’s 45th birthday, the Van Cliburn Foundation presented an acclaimed all-Liebermann concert as part of its “Modern at the Modern” series, with the composer at the piano and featuring the premiere of Liebermann’s 3rd Cello Sonata. Mr. Liebermann is an official Steinway artist.
Lowell Liebermann was born in New York City in 1961. He began piano studies at the age of eight, and composition studies at fourteen. He made his performing debut two years later at Carnegie Recital Hall, playing his Piano Sonata, Op. 1, composed when he was fifteen. He holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School. Among his many awards is a Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters as well as awards from ASCAP and BMI. Theodore Presser Company is the exclusive publisher of Mr. Liebermann's music.
Lowell Liebermann currently resides in Weehawken, New Jersey, with his partner, pianist and conductor Williams Hobbs, their Australian Shepherd named Daphne and an American Eskimo named Phoebus.
www.lowellliebermann.com
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"The American composer Lowell Liebermann has been demonstrating that it is still possible to write music that audiences actually like to hear without condescending, ‘dumbing down,’ or compromising creative standards or individuality. Liebermann, an experienced conductor, clearly knows how to get exactly what he wants from the orchestra [BBC Scottish Symphony], which for its part responds with both confidence and apparent enthusiasm." "Galway is his usual immaculate self, as effortlessly assured an exponent of the piccolo as he is a flautist, and forming a sensitive partnership with Hyun-Sun Na in the [Liebermann] Flute and Harp Concerto. Moreover, the London Mozart Players respond with enthusiasm under the composer’s shapely lead." "The London Mozart Players hew to their parts with great brio. Liebermann himself conducts them, which results in readings of great subtlety and at times a robust sense of humor - again, a perfect fit with Galway." "It is hard to beat the experience of seeing and hearing a composer play his own music with other outstanding musicians. This was a special night for classical music here." "Listening to dream-like Liebermann, [Stephen] Hough truly knows how to lead the ear, clarifying everything for the first-time listener. Liebermann himself as conductor perfectly integrates the BBC Scottish Symphony with the solo line." "Extravagant in expression, Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 36 nonetheless maintains a rigorous structural unity. The composer conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and the performances are brilliant." |
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9/6-17/2008 CORINTHIAN II CRUISE (Athens to Venice) |
