This movement is based on the first two bars of Bach's monumental B minor Mass. 

It surprised me that here and there this movement reminds me of Maher. His second symphony is, as of now, to be the inspiration for the rewrite of the next movement.

Symphony No. 22 (2023) (Ruminations) Mov. II

As I often do, when rewriting my concertos, in the first movement, I removed instruments. In this piece, specifically saved for later were woodwinds, brass and percussion.

My initial concept for this work was polytonal, at times bordering on atonal. As I lived with the material, it was increasingly clear that these intense sounds were best saved for special moments. As a result, the work as a whole became increasingly tonal. 

One of the reasons that I love composing, is that it surprises me. I am reminded of the advice to take a "wonder walk." The advice suggests going any place at all, even someplace you know well... then imagining, that you are a young child seeing everything for the first time, grateful for all the "wonders."

That in turn reminds me of the saying that gratitude brings happiness.

Contrabassoon Concerto (2022) Mov. I

This sextet is based on its opening horn call. It is, like most of my works, in the words of colleagues and others: "dark, serious, lyrical, rough-hewn, emotional, optimistic."

Edited on November 28th, 2023 into the wee hours of the next day, it is more spacious and inevitable.

Today (May 8th, 2024) the work got leaner.

Some pieces keep bringing me back. Others seem just right, a snapshot of what was going on at the time.

As a bassoonist, I played a fair amount of cello music. Cello in its own right has come to increasingly fascinate me. I wonder if there is a cello concerto in me.


*****
Photo by Saeed Khorsavi.

Sextet For Cello & Winds

Samuel Barber's music has been important to me ever since I played in his "Summer Music" back in high school.

The other day, I was working with a poem about family and personal identity. Being stuck offered me the opportunity to sit with my stuckness... Lo and behold, Barber's "Knoxville, Summer of 1915" popped into my head. 

I listened to the first recording that came up in my search and was spellbound by the performance, both of the soloist and the ensemble. They performed without a conductor. 

Being so taken with this performance, I looked up the soprano and asked if she might be willing to critique a piece of mine... She generously said "yes."

So the next morning, I wrote the music to "Shards," a poem I had written a few days before after being inspired by pianist and lecturer, Katherine Svistoonoff. She spoke about the Japanese art of remaking a broken ceramic piece by mixing the shards with gold. This image stayed with me for days... thinking about how we all get broken and how it might sometimes be possible to recast ourselves with something new.

I have often felt bad about stupid things I do. Thanks to Katherine, I am able to see this as yet another opportunity to grow in a healthy direction -- towards the sunlight.


***
Ancient
An ancient Asian art
Shards 
smashed pottery
Broken 
Still colorful
sharp shards smashed pottery
Still…. Sharp… still…
Stillness
Proud, humbled in infinite stillness
Smelted, recast with gold. 


Tuesday, April 11th, 2023

Shards

This finale takes the song in new directions. Briefly quoted is the final dance from "The Rite of Spring," which PIerre Boulez called "The Birth Certificate." I quote it in relation to the dream discussed in the program notes on Mov. I

The work comes to a decisive conclusion.

***
Chiu-Chen Liu Is the gifted violist and painter allowing me to use her visual works on my album covers.

Quintet For Bassoon & Strings No. 2 (2023) Mov. III

This piece is a gift to Beth, my dear wife of 34 years... we'll toast with Prosecco to the next 34!

For Beth On Valentine's Day

This is a lyrical and exciting concerto.

It was written for Richard Titone. It is also a tribute to the work of John Barnes Chance whose life ended far too soon.

Educational opportunities include syncopation, individual phrasing, articulations and dynamics. There are also technical passages, especially in flute and percussion parts.

Concerto For Trumpet & Symphonic Band Mov. I

This work features solo bassoon accompanied by concert band at approximatel NYSSMA Level 3. It has educational opportunities in terms of individual phrasing, accents, dynamics and tempo changes.

Flute  & percussion parts are more challenging than the others. In my. experience, they sometimes want more of a challenge.

Solo and band parts, music minus one recording and score can be purchased by emailing KennethLiebersonMusic@hotmail.com

The 3rd Core

This sonata was written for violist, Chiu-Chen Liu. She is also a gifted visual artist.

Here in my dedication:

"Because you are a visual artist and violist who likes Hindemith, the first movement is based on the first phrase of his 'Mathias the Painter.'"

Because your sense of color is so vibrant, the second movement is based on a bar from one of the most colorful works, Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Scheherazade.'

The final movement is based on "The Great Gate of Kiev" from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." This is also meant to support Ukraine in this terrible time of Russian aggression.

Viola Sonata No. 2 Mov. I

Setting the stage...
Soundscape No 2 (Composer's Spoken Intro, Part 1 of 2)

Soundscape No 2 (Composer's Spoken Intro, Part 1 of 2)

A lyrical piece written to play with composers Bruce Lazarus & Daniel Burwasser. We each wrote a short work for this get-together.

Bassoon with drum set & piano creates possibilities for refreshing textures.

Amigo Trio No. 2

Kenneth Lieberson is a composer of symphonies, concertos, tone poems, theater and chamber music, songs, a cantata and a one act opera. His music has been heard on National Public Radio, at The Library of Congress, Lincoln Center, Queens College, NYU, Stony Brook, CAMI Hall, Merkin Hall and at high and middle schools. His B. M. and M. M. are from Juilliard. He also earned an M.B.A. at NYU's Stern School of Business.

Mr. Lieberson has also written two novellas, dozens of short stories and hundreds of poems.  He illustrated some of these.

Contrabassoon Concerto (2022) Mov. I

Kenneth Lieberson

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