A native of New York City, composer, conductor, and pianist Lowell Liebermann began piano studies at age eight and composition studies at fourteen. He composed his Piano Sonata, Op. 1, at fifteen, and used it for his performing debut a year later at Carnegie Recital Hall. He studied at the Juilliard School with David Diamond and Vincent Persichetti, graduating in 1987 with a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree. From 1998 to 2002 he served as composer-in-residence with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, for whom he composed his Symphony No. 2 in 2000 to commemorate the Orchestra’s centennial. In addition to composing, Liebermann maintains an active performing and conducting schedule.
Liebermann is often considered by critics as “backward-looking,” employing a musical language that recalls the neo-Romanticism of Samuel Barber, his teacher David Diamond, and Howard Hanson. Audiences and conductors, however, appreciate his lyrical voice, making him one of the most frequently performed and recorded contemporary composers, with multiple recordings of many of his pieces. Among his most popular works are the Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra and the Flute Concerto, both commissioned by James Galway.
A prolific composer, Liebermann has dipped into every musical genre, in particular chamber music in such standard configurations as the string quartet and piano trio but also including sonatas for piano and various instruments – including bass koto. His first opera, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was premiered at the L'Opéra de Monte-Carlo in 1996 with great success. His second opera, Miss Lonelyhearts, to a libretto by J. D. McClatchy after the novel by Nathanael West, was commissioned by the Juilliard School as part of its centennial celebration and was premiered in April 2006 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center.
The Cello Concerto was co-commissioned in 2017 by the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, together with the Toledo Symphony (OH), Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MA), Jackson Symphony Orchestra (MI), the Jacksonville Symphony (FL), and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (OH). Like all of Liebermann's music, it is neo-Romantic, tonal and singable, with colorful orchestration.
Program notes by: Joe & Elizabeth Kahn