AboutComposer Peter Lieberson's work first came to national attention in 1983, with the premiere of his Piano Concerto, composed for Peter Serkin and commissioned by Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra for their centennial. Andrew Porter wrote in The New Yorker that it was a "major addition to the modern concerto repertory," and the subsequent recording of the work won Opus Magazine's Contemporary Music Award for 1985. Following its success, Lieberson was again commissioned by Ozawa and the BSO, which resulted in Drala (1986), "a short symphony but a profound one and, in many of its pages, a profoundly beautiful one," according to the Boston Globe. Drala has been performed recently by the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the London Sinfonietta. Lieberson's newest orchestral work is Neruda Songs, a setting of five sonnets by Pablo Neruda for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony for Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. The world premiere takes place in Los Angeles in May, followed by a "Composers' Choice" concert with the Los Angeles New Music Group conducted by Lieberson, and featuring his Horn Concerto, Free and Easy Wanderer, the Piano Quintet and Rilke Songs. Also this season the New World Symphony performs Drala; the New York Philharmonic with soloist Peter Serkin and James Conlon conducting present Red Garuda; and Christoper Taylor and the Ying Quartet will be heard in Lieberson's Piano Quintet at Columbia University's Miller Theater. Recent concert works include his Piano Concerto No. 3 for pianist Peter Serkin and the Minnesota Orchestra; Piano Quintet for Peter Serkin and the Orion Quartet; Ah for the Cleveland Orchestra; Six Realms (2000), a cello concerto for Yo-Yo Ma and the Toronto Symphony; Red Garuda (1999), for Peter Serkin and the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the Horn Concerto (1999), premiered by William Purvis and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; Free and Easy Wanderer, premiered by the London Sinfonietta at the 1998 Aldeburgh Festival; and Fire (1996), a 150th anniversary commission from the New York Philharmonic.
Lieberson's collaborations with Peter Serkin have resulted in the piano pieces Garland, Fantasy Pieces, Bagatelles, Scherzo, and The Ocean that has no West and no East, which premiered in Tokyo in the fall of 1997. Serkin recorded several of Lieberson's piano works for his solo album "...in real time" which was released by BMG Classics in 1996. His Piano Fantasy and The Ocean that has no West and no East were also recorded by Serkin for BMG and released in 2000. Other notable works include Variations for Violin and Piano, premiered at the Spoleto Festival U.S.A. in 1995; Variations for Piano, for Emanuel Ax, first performed at Lincoln Center in 1996; and the chamber works String Quartet, Ziji and Raising the Gaze. A 2002 Deutsche Grammophon release includes Drala, Ziji, and Fire performed by the Cleveland Orchestra, Oliver Knussen, conducting; Raising the Gaze, Accordance, and Three Songs performed by the ASKO Ensemble; and Free and Easy Wanderer performed by the London Sinfonietta. A forthcoming CD from Bridge Records will include Six Realms, the Horn Concerto and Rilke Songs. Peter Lieberson was born in New York City in 1946 and now lives in Santa Fe with his wife mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (for whom he write his Rilke Songs). He is the son of the late Goddard Lieberson, former president of Columbia Records, and the ballerina Vera Zorina. Lieberson's principal teachers in composition were Milton Babbitt, Charles Wuorinen, Donald Martino, and Martin Boykan. After completing musical studies at Columbia University, he left New York City in 1976 for Boulder, Colorado to continue his studies with Chogyam Trungpa, a Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist master he met in 1974. Lieberson then moved to Boston to direct Shambhala Training, a meditation and cultural program. During this period he also attended Brandeis University and received his Ph.D. From 1984 to 1988 he taught at Harvard University, then became international director of Shambhala Training in Halifax. Since 1994 he has devoted his time exclusively to composition. Peter Lieberson is married to mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt, for whom he wrote Rilke Songs, which were commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and premiered in 2001. Among Lieberson's many awards are those from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and a Brandeis Creative Arts Award. His music is published exclusively by Associated Music Publishers. November 2004 |
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