b. 1961
Lowell Liebermann
Lowell Liebermann is a prolific American composer, who has written 137 works throughout his career. Although the majority of his compositions are for instrumentalists, Liebermann is passionate about and has written over fifteen art songs, setting the poetry of Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, and many others’ poems to music.
Photo: Lowell Liebermann, https://www.lowellliebermann.com.
About
Lowell Liebermann is an American composer, conductor, and pianist from New York City, New York. He began studying the piano at the age of eight, and composition with Ruth Schonthal, a student of Paul Hindemith, at the age of 14. As a young student, Liebermann was fascinated with Bach’s keyboard music, which developed his love for contrapuntal musical styles. Two years later, Liebermann made his piano debut at the Carnegie Recital hall (Weill Hall) with his Piano Sonata Op. 1, which he composed at age 15. In 1969, he began his studies at the Juilliard School of Music, where he received bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in composition. He currently serves as an assistant professor in composition at the Mannes School of Music/The New School.
Throughout his career, Liebermann has composed 137 works, including the popular works Gargoyles, Op. 29 for Piano, and Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op. 23. He has also composed many art songs, and has composed several for his own pleasure. In an interview, he explained that composing for the art song genre is liberating as he is able to work off of the emotional framework created by poets. In his art songs, Liebermann has incorporated the poems of American writers like Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and others.
–Jordan Key
Sources:
Freed, Richard. “Liebermann, Lowell.” Grove Music Online.2001; Accessed 10 Nov. 2020. https://www-oxfordmusiconline-com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000042542.
Okulitch, Daniel. The New American Art Song. Recorded March 5, 2001. GPR Records, compact disc.
Related Information
Lowell Liebermann
lowellliebermann.comLibrary of Congress
loc.gov/item/ihas.200152717Bruce Duffie
bruceduffie.com/liebermann2.htmlSongs
A Poet to His Beloved, op. 401993Lowell LiebermannWilliam Butler YeatsA Poet To His Beloved (op. 40, no. 1)1993 · A Poet to His Beloved, op. 40Lowell LiebermannWilliam Butler YeatsA row of thick pillars (op. 11, no. 3)1983 · Three Poems of Stephen Crane, op. 11Lowell LiebermannStephen CraneA Variation on “To Say To Go To Sleep” (op. 22, no. 3)1987 · Night Songs, op. 22Lowell LiebermannRandall JarrellAfghanistan (op. 80, no. 4)2002 · Six Songs on Poems of Raymond Carver, op. 80Lowell LiebermannRaymond CarverAn Opera House, op. 1202012Lowell LiebermannAmy LowellBerkshire Twilight (op. 135, no. 2)2019 · Five Songs on Poems of Jean Starr Untermeyer, op. 135Lowell LiebermannJean Starr UntermeyerArdella (op. 53, no. 1)1996 · Three Dream Songs, op. 53Lowell LiebermannLangston HughesBlue-Butterfly Day (op. 104, no. 2)2007 · Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, op. 104Lowell LiebermannRobert FrostDeath by Drums (op. 21, no. 3)1987 · Final Songs, op. 21Lowell LiebermannRobert GravesDelia (op. 57, no. 5)1997 · Six Songs on Poems by Henry W. Longfellow, op. 57Lowell LiebermannHenry Wadsworth LongfellowDreams (op. 53, no. 2)1996 · Three Dream Songs, op. 53Lowell LiebermannLangston HughesDust Of Snow (op. 104, no. 4)2001 · Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, op. 104Lowell LiebermannRobert FrostFarewell Symphony (op. 21, no. 5)1987 · Final Songs, op. 21Lowell LiebermannRandall JarrellFinal Songs, op. 211987Lowell LiebermannStephen Crane, Rabindranath Tagore, Robert Graves, Randall JarrellFive Songs on Poems of Jean Starr Untermeyer, op. 1352019Lowell LiebermannJean Starr UntermeyerForget-Me-Nots (op. 135, no. 5)2019 · Five Songs on Poems of Jean Starr Untermeyer, op. 135Lowell LiebermannJean Starr UntermeyerFour Seasons, op. 1232013Lowell LiebermannEdna St. Vincent MillayFriend, your white beard sweeps the ground (op. 11, no. 2)1983 · Three Poems of Stephen Crane, op. 11Lowell LiebermannStephen CraneGood Night (op. 22, no. 1)1987 · Night Songs, op. 22Lowell LiebermannMark Van DorenHe Hears The Cry Of The Sedge (op. 40, no. 3)1993 · A Poet to His Beloved, op. 40Lowell LiebermannWilliam Butler YeatsHe Thinks Of His Past Greatness When A Part Of The Constellations Of Heaven (op. 40, no. 4)1993 · A Poet to His Beloved, op. 40Lowell LiebermannWilliam Butler YeatsHe Remembers Forgotten Beauty (op. 40, no. 2)1993 · A Poet to His Beloved, op. 40Lowell LiebermannWilliam Butler YeatsHe Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven (op. 40, no. 6)1993 · A Poet to His Beloved, op. 40Lowell LiebermannWilliam Butler YeatsHe Wishes His Beloved Were Dead (op. 40, no. 5)1993 · A Poet to His Beloved, op. 40Lowell LiebermannWilliam Butler YeatsHymn To The Night (op. 57, no. 1)1997 · Six Songs on Poems by Henry W. Longfellow, op. 57Lowell LiebermannHenry Wadsworth LongfellowI Dream a World (op. 53, no. 3)1996 · Three Dream Songs, op. 53Lowell LiebermannLangston HughesInto My Own (op. 104, no. 1)2007 · Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, op. 104Lowell LiebermannRobert FrostLake-Song (op. 135, no. 1)2019 · Five Songs on Poems of Jean Starr Untermeyer, op. 135Lowell LiebermannJean Starr UntermeyerListening to Comrade Shostakovich on the Day of His Death (op. 21, no. 4)1987 · Final Songs, op. 21Lowell LiebermannMany red devils ran from my heart (op. 21, no. 2)1987 · Final Songs, op. 21Lowell LiebermannStephen CraneMezzo Cammin (op. 57, no. 2)1997 · Six Songs on Poems by Henry W. Longfellow, op. 57Lowell LiebermannHenry Wadsworth LongfellowMindful of You (op. 123, no. 6)2013 · Four Seasons, op. 123Lowell LiebermannEdna St. Vincent MillayMist (op. 135, no. 4)2019 · Five Songs on Poems of Jean Starr Untermeyer, op. 135Lowell LiebermannJean Starr UntermeyerMusic (op. 80, no. 2)2002 · Six Songs on Poems of Raymond Carver, op. 80Lowell LiebermannRaymond CarverMy Wife (op. 80, no. 5)2002 · Six Songs on Poems of Raymond Carver, op. 80Lowell LiebermannRaymond CarverNew Tributes (op. 135, no. 3)2019 · Five Songs on Poems of Jean Starr Untermeyer, op. 135Lowell LiebermannJean Starr UntermeyerNight Songs, op. 221987Lowell LiebermannMark Van Doren, Robert Graves, Randall JarrellNow Close The Windows (op. 104, no. 3)2007 · Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, op. 104Lowell LiebermannRobert FrostOn the Beach at Night, op. 782001Lowell LiebermannWalt WhitmanOut of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, op. 411993Lowell LiebermannWalt WhitmanPlaces among the stars (op. 11, no. 1)1983 · Three Poems of Stephen Crane, op. 11Lowell LiebermannStephen CraneShe Tells Her Love While Half Asleep (op. 22, no. 2)1987 · Night Songs, op. 22Lowell LiebermannRobert GravesSix Songs on Poems by Henry W. Longfellow, op. 571997Lowell LiebermannHenry Wadsworth LongfellowSix Songs on Poems of Raymond Carver, op. 802002Lowell LiebermannRaymond CarverSnow-Flakes (op. 57, no. 3)1997 · Six Songs on Poems by Henry W. Longfellow, op. 57Lowell LiebermannHenry Wadsworth LongfellowSpring (op. 123, no. 1)2013 · Four Seasons, op. 123Lowell LiebermannEdna St. Vincent MillayStars (op. 104, no. 5)2007 · Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, op. 104Lowell LiebermannRobert FrostStopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, op. 1042007Lowell LiebermannRobert FrostStopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening (op. 104, no. 6)2007 · Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, op. 104Lowell LiebermannRobert FrostSummer (op. 123, no. 2)2013 · Four Seasons, op. 123Lowell LiebermannEdna St. Vincent MillayTarantula, or The Dance of Death (op. 86, no. 2)2003 · Two Songs on Poems of Anthony Hecht, op. 86Lowell LiebermannAnthony HechtThe Arrow And The Song (op. 57, no. 6)1997 · Six Songs on Poems by Henry W. Longfellow, op. 57Lowell LiebermannHenry Wadsworth LongfellowThe Darkness and the Light Are Both Alike to Thee (op. 86, no. 1)2003 · Two Songs on Poems of Anthony Hecht, op. 86Lowell LiebermannAnthony HechtThe Death of Autumn (I) (op. 123, no. 3)2013 · Four Seasons, op. 123Lowell LiebermannEdna St. Vincent MillayThe Death of Autumn (II) (op. 123, no. 4)2013 · Four Seasons, op. 123Lowell LiebermannEdna St. Vincent MillayThe Haunted Chamber (op. 57, no. 4)1997 · Six Songs on Poems by Henry W. Longfellow, op. 57Lowell LiebermannHenry Wadsworth LongfellowThe Next Time, op. 732001Lowell LiebermannMark StrandThere was a man with tongue of wood (op. 21, no. 6)1987 · Final Songs, op. 21Lowell LiebermannStephen CraneThree Dream Songs, op. 531996Lowell LiebermannLangston HughesThree Poems of Stephen Crane, op. 111983Lowell LiebermannStephen CraneTwo Songs on Poems of Anthony Hecht, op. 862003Lowell LiebermannAnthony HechtTwo Worlds (op. 80, no. 6)2002 · Six Songs on Poems of Raymond Carver, op. 80Lowell LiebermannRaymond CarverVenice (op. 80, no. 3)2002 · Six Songs on Poems of Raymond Carver, op. 80Lowell LiebermannRaymond CarverWar Songs, op. 71981Lowell LiebermannHerman MelvilleWhen death comes and whispers to me (op. 21, no. 1)1987 · Final Songs, op. 21Lowell LiebermannRabindranath TagoreWinter (op. 123, no. 5)2013 · Four Seasons, op. 123Lowell LiebermannEdna St. Vincent MillayYour Dog Dies (op. 80, no. 1)2002 · Six Songs on Poems of Raymond Carver, op. 80Lowell LiebermannRaymond Carver
Video
Records
2015
Of Love Of You: A Tribute To Emery W. Harper – New Music for Soprano, Bass-Baritone and Piano
Lowell Liebermann, William Bolcom, Arnold Weinstein, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson
Sheet Music