Snowball!

It's snowing like crazy out there. And it's all very wet, dense snow (which is going to be really dangerous for driving and may down power lines, especially when coupled with the wind we're supposed to be getting). And it's all sticking to Dahlia! She looks very concerned about this.

Music post: Lowell Liebermann (Piccolo Concerto)

After a discussion with bellakara in her journal I've decided that I should start talking more about music and specifically about some works I'm listening to at the moment or ones I particularly love. My musical interest is somewhat varied, though most of what I like is Classical, Irish traditional, or New Age.

I thought I would kick this idea off with a favourite work of mine by a composer many haven't heard of. Let me tell you the story of how I came across this composer, because it's always been one I remember. Some composers I've always known about. I don't remember "discovering" Mozart or Beethoven or even Berlioz or Brahms. But I do remember discovering Lowell Liebermann.

It was over 10 years ago now. I was heading home to central New York from Terre Haute, Indiana with my good friend Jason. The trip is long...some 12 hours. When we got into New York state, I put on the classical music station and this piece I had never heard before was playing.

Words can't describe how instantly in love with this piece we both were. We missed the exit for the service plaza and had to turn around to get back to it (tradition, you see, says we MUST stop at the Angola service station and walk on the walkway above the Thruway and wait while the tractor trailers, or semis as some folks call them, come rushing under and shake the bridge). But more than that, we had to sit in the car and wait until we found out the name of the piece and composer. Sitting in the car, wasting time, on a 12 hour long trip, of which we were into the 9th hour of! This is how important it was that we find out who this composer was.

It obviously turned out to be Lowell Liebermann and the work was his Flute Concerto. I ran out immediately and bought two recordings of his music. And promptly fell even more in love with the Piccolo Concerto.

Lowell Liebermann, as I found out, was born in 1961. I have to admit that it thrilled me to hear such wonderful music written by a living composer! It's rare for a classical music station to play music by someone still alive. He began his career young, like so many others did, by debuting his first major work, the Piano Sonata, op. 1 at Carnegie Hall when he was only 15. He got three degrees from Julliard and has spent his time almost solely a composer in a world where few get to be "just" a composer.

The Concerto for Piccolo and Orchestra, op. 50 was composed in 1996 and was commissioned by the National Flute Association. Its first performance was August 18, 1996 and is dedicated to Jan Gippo, the piccolo player who premiered the work.

The entire work is up on youtube (with simply a blank background), though the second movement is split into two separate files. This is the recording I have, done by James Galway. The first movement is my favourite of the three, though I love the whole work.


Mvt. I

Mvt. II, part 1
Mvt. II, part 2

Mvt. III

The last is humorous. Can you identify the famous classical work he quotes?