Customer Reviews

Music of Peter Lieberson (Rilke Songs, The Six Realms, Horn Concerto)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While it is true that I bought this recording in order to hear Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's performance (I would listen to her sing anything by anybody), it is a happy outcome that I can recommend the whole disc. I have not been a fan of Peter Lieberson's music before, but the pleasing variety of works here may convert me.

First, the Rilke songs, written for LHL, are exceptionally beautiful and her performance lives up to all expectations. The selection of five poems from Rilke's 'Sonnets to Orpheus' is itself interesting, suggesting a fine understanding of the work of that very difficult poet; the poems evoke Rilke's (and Lieberson's) fascination with the tensions between dynamic motion (and life) and the pure stasis of ideal beauty, of the search for spiritual perfection and the lure of physical/sexual power. Rilke finds in art the possibility of bringing those together, of reconciling any tension between them; Lieberson seeks the same in his music (especially as he explains its connection with Buddhist principles), and the connection in these songs is both very beautiful and convincing. LHL's voice was the perfect medium for those songs; her performance is meditative, lyrical, profoundly emotional but subtle. Anyone who values her singing will want this disc.

But further, Lieberson's piece for cello and orchestra, "Six Realms," which explores the realms of existence as described in Buddhist tradition, and the Horn Concerto, are both deeply satisfying, if not particularly adventurous, works. Both offer challenges to the soloists, and both reward the attentive listener with thought provoking and moving musical experiences. TFD

Of course I bought this to have another memory of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson...and on that level it succeeded; what surprised me pleasantly was the rest of the album. I enjoyed Peter Lieberson's horn concerto on first listening and have replayed it several times - finding colors and contrasts that deepened the experience of the music.

But let's not forget the prime reason for owning this disc...the glorious, wonderous, magical, intelligent, powerful - and gone forever - Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Her husband crafted songs that inhabit her voice and that she lives rather than sings...though she does. Now one must wait and hope for the Neruda Songs.

The late mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's full-throated singing once again astounds the astute listener. Rilke's complex poetry, set to music by the late singer's husband, Peter Lieberson, is a haunting combination of music, text, and near perfect vocal interpretation. Hunt Lieberson's incarnation of Rilke's evocations of loss and transformation is nothing less than a supremely intelligent and passionate performance. An orchestral piece and a horn concerto comprise most of the CD and Peter Lieberson's late-20th century musical sensibility is at once lyrical and dark and intent on exploring moods particularly resonant with postmodern life: ambiguity, dissonance, estrangement, lamentation, and the inexorable pull of fate toward the elliptical.

I really, really wanted to like this music. But after many attempts I found myself unsatisfied. One cannot quarrel with any of the performances. The loss of Lorrain Hunt Lieberson is a blow to music. The performance given by her and her accompanist, Peter Serkin, is as exemplary a reading as one could get. Her fine low register is especially appealing here. But in the end, we've heard this music before. Rhythmically and gesturally it could be late Romantic German. Harmonically, there are a few twists, but nothing that hadn't been done by 1940. Tempi all lean toward moderato, so the overall effect becomes monochromatic. Lieberson remarks how much he learned from his wife; it's hard to quarrel except that he may have forgotten his own responsibility as a teacher.

The Six Realms for amplified cello and orchestra has a slightly scary title. Why is the cello amplified? Are we going to hear scratches, special effects and so on? Thankfully the answer is NO. It appears that the cello is amplified simply to balance it against the orchestra. The piece itself is generally slow and lyrical, with fine playing by Michaela Fukacova. Nice enough, but nowhere we haven't been.

The Horn Concerto is a fine middle Stravinsky piece. There doesn't seem to be much in there that couldn't have been written 60 years before. Instrumentation, harmony, voicings all seem to come from pieces like Dumbarton Oaks, or the Violin Concerto, or perhaps the Piano Cappricio. I was waiting for a punch line, but it never came. The concerto is a first-rate student piece in the style of Stravinsky.

So where would I place Peter Lieberson? I've heard some of his music, particularly for piano, that is much more challenging and engaging. But this music does not reach those heights. There's no denying the craft and lyricism. It's safe. But I hear no individual --no imperative.

A very pleasant album, well performed. We especially enjoyed the songs, and the outstanding voice of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, tragically, taken from us far too soon.

The Rilke songs would be enough reason to buy this recording. They were written for the singer, who gives a remarkable performance. The other works are also excellent.

The first time I heard of Peter Lieberson was at Chicago Premiere of his Piano Concerto 2, the "Red Garuda." At the time, it sounded extraordinarily modern to me as my ears had not yet taken in any post Mahlerian music. Now, almost eight years later it is amazing how this disc seems almost conservative, in the best sense. It, like much modern music, blends the old and new in an incredible way---mainly taking the formal structures(avoiding the blimp-bloop start\stop method of so much avant-garde) and combining it with a flexibile tonality(basically atonal) that is emotional riveting, dramatic and beautiful all at once.
The first time I heard this disc it didnt make much of an impression. But then, randomly my itunes player played a selection from the Six Realms and I stopped what I was doing to see what I was listening too. I have been a devoted fan ever since. The Six realms is, in my opinion the finest piece here-I beleive it was written for Yo-Yo Ma, and deserves wide concert hall performance(for sure the textures and dynamics would benefit from that platform). The Rilke Songs are also good, but not the masterpieces that his Neruda Songs are(another disc I of the highest recommendation--again repeated listening rewards you). The Horn Concerto is the most "out there piece," though still a marvelous piece in a similar soundworld to his Drala piece from his DG release "Razing the Gaze" or something like that. Highly recommended. I only wish I could hear the Red Garuda with the ears I have now.

The roaring beauty and emotional torrents in the late mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's unparalleled voice are put on fine display in a live performance of her husband Peter's musical interpretation of German poet Rainer Maria Rilke's "Sonnets to Orpheus". Recorded at the 2004 Ravinia Festival, this eighteen-minute piece in five movements is a passionate combination of voice and piano by Peter Serkin, often at melodic odds with one another yet melding powerfully in a most fluid manner. Rilke's lyrical prose juxtaposes easily with the haunting imagery evoked by Lieberson's music and infused by his innate understanding of the text. Moreover, having his wife play muse elevates the entire performance to sheer transcendence.

The centerpiece of this 2006 disc, "The Six Realms", is almost as compelling as it represents an ambitious canvas of human consciousness as interpreted by Tibetan Buddhism philosophy of which Lieberson has been a devout follower. A concerto in six movements, the piece begins ominously with "The Sorrow of the World", which climbs to a dramatic crescendo that segues into the distinct contours of the realms - anger with Hell, neediness with the Hungry Ghost, willful ignorance with the Animal, passion with the Human, jealousy with the Jealous God, and a level of bliss and self-satisfaction with the God realm. The last two realms are intriguingly combined in the climactic movement. Masterful playing by Michaela Fukacova on violoncello is heard throughout, most prominently in the Hell and Human Realm movements.

The concluding Horn Concerto consists of two longer movements and carries a greater variety of musical textures than the first two, almost cinematic in approach with touches of Gershwin-style jazz and mid-century swing. Spotlighted most lustrously in this piece is the dexterous playing of William Purvis on French horn. Denmark's Odense Symphony Orchestra plays expertly on the last two concertos with Justin Brown conducting on "The Six Realms" and Donald Palma on the "Horn Concerto". Overall, this impressive recording confirms Peter Lieberson as a truly accomplished modern composer who obviously received a great deal of inspiration from his mother, ballerina Vera Zorina (to whom this recording is dedicated), and his wondrously talented wife, who sadly passed away two months after this disc's release.

When Peter Lieberson married the love of his life (Lorraine Hunt), he had no idea she would only be alive for the next 8 years. As a composer, Peter vividly expresses his passion. One can actually feel their extraordinary
"oneness" through Lorraine's UNBELIEVABLE voice. I've listened to this often and each time I feel their intimacy growing and growing. My pleasure
is shared with others. With warmth for the human spirit, Tamme

Lieberson's music (so far I only know this CD and the one with his Neruda Songs) is not "difficult". Lieberson has a lyric quality, but in the style of the times.
Of course, Lorraine Hunt is superb (in both CD's, though I must say I found the Neruda Songs the more compelling, even heart wrenching, sometimes bringing me to near tears.
I find the Horn Concerto a delight. And like it, The Six Realms is inventive, nicely orchestrated and at times a bit eerie. There is a ruminative or perhaps sad tone in much of this work. At times it is intensely dramatic and the cello with its deep sensuous sound then provides a provocative contrast.
I think this CD is worth having as much as any of the past 75 years.