Bridge Records designate this CD as Volume 3 of the Music of Peter
Lieberson. The others are
Bridge
9178, containing the
Rilke Songs (live recording),
The Six
Realms for cello and orchestra, and the
Horn Concerto, and
Bridge 9317, containing
Red Garuda (
Piano
Concerto No. 2),
Rilke Songs (in a different, studio
recording),
Bagatelles for piano, and
Piano Quintet. Those
discs did not contain volume numbers, so one can hope now that there will be
further instalments of Lieberson's very individual and attractive music.
I reviewed the second disc of the series here and found the composer's
Second Piano Concerto a more lyrical, impressionistic work than his earlier
piano concerto, both of which were commissioned by Seiji Ozawa and the
Boston Symphony for Peter Serkin. Now we have Lieberson's third and last
piano concerto that combines elements of both previous works in the genre
with craggy, even violent passages typical of the first concerto contrasting
with lyrical ones. Lieberson likewise composed his last piano concerto for
Peter Serkin, but this time for the centennial of the Minnesota Orchestra.
It was premiered by Serkin and that orchestra under Oliver Knussen. I had
not heard of Steven Beck before, but he clearly has the chops to conquer the
concerto and the Odense Symphony under Scott Yoo accompany well.
The
Piano Concerto No. 3 has three distinct movements. Unlike its
predecessors, each of its movements is inspired by a literary work and taken
together are "independent in their expressive aims and harmonic bases",
according to Matthew Mendez's extensive notes in the CD booklet. Another
noticeable difference in this concerto is the use of extended passages for
the solo piano, even quasi-cadenzas. The first movement is entitled
Leviathan, taken from a poem by Pablo Neruda; the second is
Canticle from St. Francis of Assisi's "Canticle of the Sun"; the
third, a
Rondo from Charles Wright's "Dog Creek Mainline". One does
not need to know these references to appreciate the concerto on purely
musical terms. The first movement takes off like a rocket, but is not as
violent as the equivalent movement of the
Piano Concerto No. 1. As
in both earlier concertos, brass and percussion also play a major role here,
but later there is a string passage that evokes the mood of the
Neruda
Songs in its Romantic atmosphere. The movement ends quietly and rather
spookily. The second movement picks up where the first left off, but is more
lyrical and even tonal. Mendez describes it as a "song without words of the
utmost delicacy and restraint". Lieberson effectively employs solo winds and
brass in the movement with beautiful horn, trumpet, and oboe solos. Again
the movement ends quietly, while the last movement bursts in with piano
chords and syncopations that evoke jazz. The trombone plays a notable role
here and there is a touch of Broadway, but the brass interjections and
rhythmic patterns also evoke Stravinsky. There is a build-up to a march-like
ending and the music just stops on an unresolved C dominant seventh chord.
The musicians could have made that clearer or more decisive, but perhaps it
was done as Lieberson intended. At any rate, it leaves a rather unsettled
feeling at the end of the work. Overall, though, I find this concerto the
most attractive of the three, with
Red Garuda close behind.
The earlier
Viola Concerto has an interesting history. Lieberson
initially composed it in 1992 in two movements for Steven Dann, who was
principal violist of the Toronto Symphony at the time. It was premiered in
that form by those artists and later by the San Francisco Symphony's
then-principal violist Geraldine Walther, after which the San Francisco
critic Joshua Kosman complained of " a big empty spot at the center of the
piece", according to Mendez. Apparently agreeing with this criticism,
Lieberson in 2003 composed an additional movement that became the work's
finale. The concerto's three movements are
Rhapsody,
Scherzo and
Adagio-Allegro, respectively. As one might
expect, the
Viola Concerto is a more songful piece than the piano
work. It may not have the imposing stature of the piano concertos, but is
very attractive all the same. Although the first movement begins with loud
brass chords, the viola almost immediately takes over with a long-limbed
melody. As Mendez states, there is something of the Walton mode in
Lieberson's treatment of the viola. The viola plays practically throughout
and has a long cadenza-like solo in the middle of the movement. There are
also loud brass passages to contrast with the prevailing mood. The
Scherzo begins as if the orchestra is warming up - a collage of
sounds with much flute twittering - before the viola enters. In this
movement the viola has a really virtuosic part, rhythmic and jazzy, before
ending softly. The third movement begins with a sombre wind chorale before
the viola enters with an austere chromatic theme, later becoming dramatic
with brass punctuations. Particularly moving in the middle of the movement
is a high viola part accompanied by the horns. The conclusion of the work in
a way recalls that of the piano concerto in that it ends loudly on a short
chord - this time in C major. I am not familiar with the work's dedicatee,
but Roberto Diaz, a violist of international reputation, is a distinguished
exponent of the piece. He is now President and CEO of the Curtis Institute
of Music and was formerly principal violist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
His sterling performance is well complemented by that of the Odense
orchestra and its conductor. The recorded sound for both this and the
Piano Concerto No. 3 is big and bold, as befits the music.
Peter Lieberson's reputation lay primarily in his vocal output, especially
the songs he wrote for his second wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. They are
undoubtedly the most accessible, having the most immediate appeal.
Nonetheless, Lieberson's concertos are seminal works and deserve further
exposure. Bridge has done a real service in providing these excellent
recordings of his oeuvre. It is hoped that there will be additional volumes
in this valuable series.
Leslie Wright
