Biography
Among today's American composers, Lowell Liebermann ranks among the most frequently programmed, with numerous works having secured a lasting place in the standard repertory. He also maintains an active career as a pianist, having introduced significant pieces by both himself and fellow composers.
Born in New York on September 22, 1961, Liebermann began piano studies at age eight and started composition lessons six years later. He demonstrated exceptional ability in each discipline, giving the world premiere of his Piano Sonata, Op. 1, at Carnegie Hall at the age of sixteen. At the Juilliard School he completed bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, studying composition with David Diamond and Vincent Persichetti.
Liebermann's catalog now exceeds 140 works spanning multiple genres, several of which have attained broad recognition. His Sonata for flute and piano and the piano cycle Gargoyles stand out; each has received more than twenty commercial recordings. He has completed four symphonies and two operas—the latter including Miss Lonelyhearts, drawn from Nathanael West's novel, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, the first American opera to receive its premiere from the Monte Carlo Opera in Monaco—along with numerous additional orchestral scores. Stephen Hough introduced his Piano Concerto No. 2 with the National Symphony Orchestra under Mstislav Rostropovich; the Hyperion recording of the work earned a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
Liebermann has enjoyed a close association with flutist James Galway, who commissioned two concertos and a trio from him. In his performing career he has introduced compositions by Ned Rorem, William Bolcom, and others, and he presented his own Piano Quintet in Berlin with members of the Berlin Philharmonic. Residencies have included positions with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and additional institutions.
Roughly 120 of his scores have been committed to disc. Although he has participated in several recordings of his own music, his first solo album, Personal Demons, appeared only in 2021 on the Steinway & Sons label and featured both his works and those of other composers. In 2012 he joined the composition faculty at Mannes College at the New School for Music, where he later became head of the composition department. He also established MACE, the Mannes American Composers Ensemble, serving as its artistic director; the large ensemble specializes in music by living American composers.
Born in New York on September 22, 1961, Liebermann began piano studies at age eight and started composition lessons six years later. He demonstrated exceptional ability in each discipline, giving the world premiere of his Piano Sonata, Op. 1, at Carnegie Hall at the age of sixteen. At the Juilliard School he completed bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, studying composition with David Diamond and Vincent Persichetti.
Liebermann's catalog now exceeds 140 works spanning multiple genres, several of which have attained broad recognition. His Sonata for flute and piano and the piano cycle Gargoyles stand out; each has received more than twenty commercial recordings. He has completed four symphonies and two operas—the latter including Miss Lonelyhearts, drawn from Nathanael West's novel, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, the first American opera to receive its premiere from the Monte Carlo Opera in Monaco—along with numerous additional orchestral scores. Stephen Hough introduced his Piano Concerto No. 2 with the National Symphony Orchestra under Mstislav Rostropovich; the Hyperion recording of the work earned a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
Liebermann has enjoyed a close association with flutist James Galway, who commissioned two concertos and a trio from him. In his performing career he has introduced compositions by Ned Rorem, William Bolcom, and others, and he presented his own Piano Quintet in Berlin with members of the Berlin Philharmonic. Residencies have included positions with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and additional institutions.
Roughly 120 of his scores have been committed to disc. Although he has participated in several recordings of his own music, his first solo album, Personal Demons, appeared only in 2021 on the Steinway & Sons label and featured both his works and those of other composers. In 2012 he joined the composition faculty at Mannes College at the New School for Music, where he later became head of the composition department. He also established MACE, the Mannes American Composers Ensemble, serving as its artistic director; the large ensemble specializes in music by living American composers.
Albums
