Crypt Sessions to Present US Premiere Of Lowell Liebermann's Acclaimed Frankenstein Suite For Piano in October

A piano version of GRAMMY Award-nominated American composer Lowell Liebermann's Frankenstein Suite will be given its US premiere by Gilmore Young Artist Maxim Lando on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, in two evening performances at 7:30 pm and 9 pm. Part of the Crypt Sessions of the New York City concert series Death of Classical, the program will be repeated on Wednesday evening, October 11, also at 7:30 and 9 p.m. They take place at the Crypt Chapel underneath the Church of the Intercession (550 W 155th St New York, NY 10032). The full program follows:

Florence Price Fantasie- "Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass" (1933)

Lowell Liebermann Three Dance from "Frankenstein" (2022)

Scott Wheeler Sweeney Todd Suite

The new work, which explores Mary Shelley's timeless tale of the dangers that come with reckless creation, is based on Mr. Liebermann's full- size Ballet Frankenstein, co-commissioned by London's Royal Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet. The ballet was released on Blu-Ray and DVD in 2017.

General admission of $85 can be purchased on the Crypt Session's event page. For more information, please visit composer Lowell Liebermann's website, and Death of Classical's website.

At once unabashedly romantic and modern, American composer 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 Bolcolm. 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, and 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 season's highlights include a world premiere of Mr. Liebermann's Organ Concerto, to be performed by distinguished organist Paul Jacobs with the Jacksonville Symphony and conductor Courtney Lewis September 29th, 2023. This concerto was jointly commissioned by the Jacksonville Symphony and the Oregon Bach Festival. On October 9th, 2023, at Stern Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andreas Delfs will perform 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 Joffrey Ballet will give the Chicago premiere of Mr. Liebermann's Frankenstein with choreography by Liam Scarlett and stage design by John MacFarlane at the Lyric Opera October 12 -22, 2023. From March 21 - 24, 2024, the internationally lauded conductor Susanna Mälkki leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in world premiere performances of Mr. Liebermann's Flute Concerto No. 2, with principal flutist Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson as soloist.

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.

Mr. Liebermann has been commissioned by celebrated flutist Sir James Galway to write three major works: 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.

American pianist Maxim Lando has been described as a "dazzling fire-eater" (ARTS San Francisco), a "pianist who dares to do things not considered by others" (ConcertoNet, The Classical Music Network) and as "a total musical being" (The New Criterion). He was lauded by Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times as displaying "brilliance and infectious exuberance in his New York debut" combined with "impressive delicacy" and a "wild-eyed danger."

Mr. Lando first made international headlines performing together with Lang Lang, Chick Corea, and The Philadelphia Orchestra led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Carnegie Hall's 2017 Opening Night Gala. Since then, he has performed with major orchestras around the world including Pittsburgh Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic, Hawaii Symphony, St. Petersburg Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Kazakh State Philharmonic, Beijing NCPA Orchestra, and others.

A recipient of the prestigious Gilmore Young Artist Award, Mr. Lando is also First Prize winner in both the 2022 New York Franz Liszt International Competition and The Vendome Prize 2021/22. He continues to garner international attention on the largest stages, this past year returning to Carnegie Hall to perform Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Orchestra of St. Luke's led by Gabor Hollerung. As winner of the 2021 Juilliard Concerto Competition, he made his Alice Tully Hall debut performing Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Juilliard Orchestra led by Xian Zhang. In 2020 Maxim was named Musical America's New Artist of the Month, and in 2018 at the age 16, Maxim won First Prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. His sold-out debut performing Lizst's Transcendental Etudes at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall was hailed by The New York Times as a concert "You Won't Want to Miss." He also played the same works at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater.

Mr. Lando has been featured as a Guest Artist at many of the world's most important music festivals, including Gilmore Piano Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Dresden Music Festival (2024), Kissinger Sommer (Germany), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival (Germany), Ravinia Festival, Musical Olympus International Festival (Russia), Gower Festival (Wales), Skaneateles Festival, Lancaster International Piano Festival, Rising Stars Munich, Lednice-Valtice (Czech Republic), and Samos Young Artist Festival (Greece). Recital highlights include performances at the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, Carnegie Hall Presents, Symphony Hall in Shenzhen, Chicago's Millennium Park, Lied Center of Kansas, Beethoven Haus in Bonn, GRAMMY Salute to Classical Music, and University of Georgia Athens Presents. He was invited by Lang Lang to perform for the historic opening of Steinway and Sons in Beijing. He performed Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto for an outdoor audience of 50,000 people with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in Madison, Wisconsin.

Mr. Lando partners frequently with violinist Daniel Hope and is passionate about chamber music and unusual repertoire. He has collaborated with Lynn Harrell, Julian Rachlin, and the Danish String Quartet among others, and plays regularly with Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players in New York City. His CD "Into Madness" with German violinist Tassilo Probst, was recorded by Bavarian Radio on Berlin Classics and released this past August. The double album was awarded a 2023 International Classical Music Award (ICMA) for "Best Chamber Music Album of the Year".

Dedicated to making classical music accessible to his own generation, Mr. Lando has been featured on CNN's Best of Quest, NPR, BBC Radio, WQXR, Bavarian Radio, Israel's "Intermezzo with Arik", and Russia's TV Kultura. Earlier awards that greatly impacted Mr. Lando's musical life with support and opportunities include

Gold Prize at the 16th International Television Competition "The Nutcracker" in Moscow, and Second Place at the 2015 Kissingen Piano Olympics in Germany. He has also received an Audience Award and continued support from the Musical Olympus Foundation.He is a proud alumnus of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, and studies with long-time mentor Hung- Kuan Chen at The Juilliard School.