See Composer/Pianist Lowell Liebermann & Flutist Brandon Patrick George In Recital in Newburgh, NY

Internationally acclaimed composer/pianist Lowell Liebermann, who serves as Artistic Director of the Thornwillow Concert at Calvary series, will join GRAMMY Award-winning flutist Brandon Patrick George for a recital Saturday afternoon, April 27, 2024, 5 p.m. The concert, which features two of Mr. Liebermann's works for flute, will take place at the recently renovated Calvary Presbyterian Church (1200 South Street, Newburgh, NY 12550). The full program follows:

Event Details

Lili Boulanger D'un matin de printemps

Lili Boulanger Nocturne

J. S. Bach Sonata in b-minor BWV 1030

Lowell Liebermann Air for Flute and Piano, Op.118

Francis Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano, FP164

Lowell Liebermann Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op.23

Concert admission is free, but reservations are required at www.thornwillowinstitute.org. The post-concert Benefit Reception will feature a locally sourced menu of light fare by artist and Chef Leon Johnson at Reggie Young's Hudson Valley House Parts (201 Ann Street, Newburgh, NY.) Admission to the reception is $125 per person. Proceeds support the ongoing Thornwillow Concerts at Calvary series which is committed to making great music accessible to the community.

Thornwillow Concerts is the brainchild of Luke Pontifell, founder, in 1985, of Thornwillow Press, a niche printing company dedicated to making books that last, with careful attention to the use of quality paper, printing, and binding. Additionally, the company designs and manufactures fine paper and stationery, drawing on the rich traditions of classical engraving and letterpress printing.

Monthly performances of classical instrumental, vocal, and chamber music, as well as jazz and other genres will be presented as part of an ongoing effort to reinvigorate Newburgh as a "live/work" haven. Renovations of existing structures, the creation of new businesses, and the development of space for artists' work spaces, are contributing to the renascence of the city, while respecting the rights of the local population to maintain affordable residences. After a fire in 2020 devastated Newburgh's Gothic revival Calvary Presbyterian Church and its historic Skinner & Sons pipe organ, monies were raised to restore the space as well as the instrument. Thornwillow Concerts will engage the community in the form of outreach performances and collaboration with local artists, fostering music education by utilizing the venue and visiting artists for masterclasses and student mentoring, and by working with local schools and organizations to bring free access to music for the community.

At once unabashedly romantic and modern, American composer and pianist Lowell Liebermann is internationally recognized as an artist of uncommon profundity and popularity. In the words of long-time music critic Alex Ross of The New Yorker: "Lowell Liebermann is an epicure among American composers, savoring glittery chords, gossamer lines, and velvety textures that more self-consciously intellectual colleagues might be scared to put on paper." "Now brazen and glittering, now radiantly visionary...the work of a composer unafraid of grand gestures and openhearted lyricism," proclaimed Time Magazine. And according to The Atlantic: "The music combines rich, unabashed emotions with an energy...shot through with expressive melody, brilliantly orchestrated, paced with unerring dramatic flair...crafted with passion and art."

Not content to compose, Mr. Liebermann excels as a solo pianist both live and in recording. He has given the world premieres of his own solo piano works as well as works by his fellow composers Ned Rorem and William Bolcom. In 2021, the Steinway label released Liebermann's debut album as piano soloist to critical acclaim: "Personal Demons," a compendium of music that has shaped Liebermann's musical thought, including works by Schubert, Liszt, Kabeláĉ, Busoni's monumental Fantasia Contrappuntistica, and works by Liebermann himself. The following year, in 2022, the Steinway & Sons label sponsored a second solo piano album by Mr. Liebermann, The Devil's Lyre, featuring music of contemporary British composer David Hackbridge Johnson. Another album of piano music by German Romantic composer Theodor Kirchner is slated for release on the Blue Griffin label in late 2023. A Steinway artist, Mr. Liebermann made his Berlin debut performing his Piano Quintet with members of the Berlin Philharmonic.

This spring saw the unveiling of Mr. Liebermann's Flute Concerto No. 2, commissioned and played by the Chicago Symphony, led by conductor Susanna Mälkki with principal flutist Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson performing as soloist. "...one of the most eagerly anticipated events this season throughout the flute community. And the actual performances have exceeded the fever pitch of expectation," wrote Cate Hymmel in the March 26, 2024 edition of the Flute Examiner.

"The big reveal was the first performance of Lowell Liebermann's Flute Concerto No. 2, Op. 142, according to M.L. Rantala March 25, 2024 in hpherald.com. And he added, "This seemed to be a match made in heaven. Liebermann's previous works for flute have been wildly successful, gaining adherents as famous as James Galway. What I loved most about Liebermann's new concerto is that it has a marvelous sense of propulsion to it. Whether the tempo is fast or slow, the music unfolds like a ribbon caught in a breeze. There is a clear shape and purpose and swirling beauty." And Hannah Edgar, writing for the Chicago Tribune (March 24, 2024) stated "Liebermann's first flute concerto was a professional turning point for this dean-to-be-of American neoromanticism, and it remains one of his most frequently recorded works..."

Other highlights this season included the world premiere of Mr. Liebermann's Organ Concerto, performed by distinguished organist Paul Jacobs with the Jacksonville Symphony and conductor Courtney Lewis this past September. This concerto was jointly commissioned by the Jacksonville Symphony and the Oregon Bach Festival and will be performed again this coming summer in Oregon. In October 2023, at Stern Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andreas Delfs performed two of Mr. Liebermann's works, his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 74 and his Chamber concerto No. 1, Op. 28a for Violin, Piano, and String Orchestra featuring violinist Aiman Mussakhajayeva and Mr. Liebermann at the piano. The same week, at the popular, off-beat Crypt Sessions in uptown New York City, Three Dances from Frankenstein received its US premiere by Gilmore Young Artist Maxim Lando and the Joffrey Ballet gave the Chicago premiere of Mr. Liebermann's Frankenstein with choreography by Liam Scarlett and stage design by John MacFarlane at the Lyric Opera

One of the most frequently performed and recorded composers of America, Mr. Liebermann has written more than one hundred forty works in all genres, several of which have gone on to become standard repertoire for their instruments. His Sonata for Flute and Piano and his Gargoyles for piano are among the most popular contemporary works for their instruments, regularly included in recital and competition programs. Each of them has been recorded on compact disc more than twenty-five times to date. His full-length ballet Frankenstein was co-commissioned by London's Royal Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet and has been released on Blu-Ray and DVD. The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra under the baton of Martin West has also released the complete score on Reference Recordings. Mr. Liebermann has written two full-length operas, both enthusiastically received at their premieres: The Picture of Dorian Gray, the first American opera commissioned by and premiered in 1995 by l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and Miss Lonelyhearts, after the novel by Nathanael West, commissioned and presented by the Juilliard School to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2005.

The celebrated flutist Sir James Galway has commissioned three major works from Mr. Liebermann: Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra, and Trio No. 1 for Flute, Cello and Piano. Sir James premiered the Flute Concerto with the St. Louis Symphony under Leonard Slatkin and subsequently performed it with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He recorded three of Mr. Liebermann's concertos for RCA Red Seal with the composer conducting the London Mozart Players.

Mr. Liebermann has composed four symphonies, a Concerto for Orchestra, three piano concertos, and concertos for many other instruments. His Symphony No. 2 was commissioned and premiered by the Dallas Symphony under the baton of Andrew Litton, in celebration of the orchestra's centenary in February 2000. This concert was the ground-breaking first webcast ever of an orchestral concert. Mr. Liebermann's Piano Concerto No. 2 was commissioned by Steinway & Sons and premiered by Stephen Hough with the National Symphony under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovich. The Hyperion recording of the concerto - conducted by the composer - received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. The New York Philharmonic with Kurt Masur and principal trumpet Philip Smith presented the premiere of Mr. Liebermann's Trumpet Concerto, which the Wall Street Journal described as "balancing bravura and a wealth of attractive musical ideas to create a score that invites repeated listening." He has also been commissioned by the Emerson String Quartet and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Recent new works include Cello Sonata No. 5, commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the University of Reno for cellist Dmitri Atapine and pianist Hyeyeon Park; String Quartet No. 6 for the Dover Quartet, courtesy the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music; a song cycle for soprano Brenda Rae, jointly commissioned by Vocal Arts DC and London's Wigmore Hall; and Romance, Etude and Chorale for piano duet, his second commission from Steinway & Sons.

Mr. Liebermann has amassed a remarkable discography, with over one hundred fifty releases on labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, Virgin Classics, Hungaroton, New World Records, Albany, RCA Red Seal, Reference, and many others. His works are published by Theodore Presser Company, Schott, and Faber Music. He has been invited to serve as Composer-in-Residence for numerous distinguished organizations including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for four years; the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan; the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Mr. Liebermann has been a faculty member of the Composition Department of the Mannes School of Music of the New School since 2012. In addition to mentoring numerous young students, he was the founding conductor of the Mannes American Composers Ensemble, devoted to performing works of living American composers.

Mr. Liebermann is the recipient of many awards and distinctions, among them the CAG Virtuoso Award given by Concert Artists Guild for lifetime achievement, and Grand Prize from the inaugural American Composers Invitational awarded by the Van Cliburn Competition. In 2016 he was awarded the Barto Prize for his Eighth Nocturne for solo piano. He has been honored multiple times by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, most recently becoming the first recipient of the Virgil Thompson Vocal Award for his body of vocal music. He lives in the New York City area with his partner, pianist and conductor William Hobbs.

Brandon Patrick George, hailed as a "knockout musician with a gorgeous sound" by The Philadelphia Inquirer, is a leading flute soloist and Grammy Award-winning chamber musician whose repertoire extends from the Baroque era to today. He is the flutist of Imani Winds and has appeared as a soloist with the Atlanta, Baltimore, and Albany symphonies, American Composers Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke's, among others.

Brandon has performed at the Elbphilharmonie, the Kennedy Center, the Dresden Music Festival, and the Prague Spring Festival. In addition to his work with Imani Winds, Brandon's solo performances include appearances at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 92nd Street Y, Tippet Rise, and Maverick Concerts. In 2021, Brandon was part of the inaugural class of WQXR's Artist Propulsion Lab, a program designed to advance the careers of early and mid-career artists and support the future of classical music.

In September 2023, Brandon's latest album, Twofold, was released on In a Circle Records. Twofold follows the success of Brandon Patrick George's debut solo album, released in 2020 on Haenssler Classics. George was featured in The New York Times around the album's release, in an article titled "A Flutist Steps into the Spotlight," which described the album as "a program that showcases the flute in all its wit, warmth and brilliance."

Raised by a single mother in Dayton, OH, Brandon is the proud product of public arts education. He draws on his personal experiences in his commitment to educating the next generation, performing countless outreach concerts for school children every year, and mentoring young conservatory musicians of color embarking on performance careers. Brandon was trained at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Conservatoire de Paris, and the Manhattan School of Music. He serves on the faculty of the Curtis Institute and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

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