Composer Lowell Liebermann to Launch New Season Of THORNWILLOW CONCERTS AT CALVARY

The internationally lauded American composer Lowell Liebermann, continuing his role as Artistic Director of "Thornwillow Concerts at Calvary," will preside over six Saturday afternoon concerts (all commencing at 5 p.m.) at the recently renovated Calvary Presbyterian Church in Newburgh, New York, from November to May.

The first concert takes place November 9, 2024, and will feature stellar pianist Sergei Kvitko performing Schubert's complete Impromptus and Moments Musicaux. Next, on January 25, 2025, the series will present cellist Johannes Gray and pianist Anastasiya Magamedova in a program of Chopin's Sonata for cello and piano, Op. 65, and Rachmaninoff's Sonata for cello and piano, Op. 19. On February 22, 2025, Ukrainian duo pianists Anastasia Larchikova and Mykhailo Diordiev will perform Carpathian song by Zoltan Almashi; Three Extravagant Dances by Myroslav Skoryk, Dvořák's Slavonic Dances, Op. 72, Nos. 1 and 2, as well as works by two American composers: John Corigliano's Gazebo Dances and Romance, Etude and Choral Op.134 by Lowell Liebermann.

The audience will be able to hear the recently restored 2000-pipe Skinner & Son organ at the Calvary Presbyterian Church on March 8, 2025, when acclaimed soloist Jeremy Filsell plays Liszt's Fantasy on "Ad Nos Salutarem Undam" for organ, S. 259. Equally at home at the piano, Mr. Filsell will also perform the great Liszt B Minor Piano Sonata, S. 178. April 5, 2024, 21-year-old dazzling Maxim Lando plays Lowell Liebermann's "Three Dances from Frankenstein," the Bach/Brahms Chaconne in d minor for piano left hand, and Three Movements from "Petrushka" by Igor Stravinsky. The season concludes with a chamber concert featuring the Viennese-based ensemble Trio Revolution (Temo Kharshiladze, flute; Sandro Sidamonidze, cello; Ketevan Sepashvili, piano) on May 10, 2025, performing Haydn's Flute Trio in D major Hb. XV-16, Trio No.2 for Flute, Cello, and Piano Op. 87 by Mr. Lieberman, and Weber's Flute Trio in g minor, Op. 63.

The Thornwillow Concerts at Calvary is a series that is dedicated to making great music accessible to the community. Concert admission is free, but reservations are required at www.thornwillowinstitute.org.

Among America's internationally heralded composers, Lowell Liebermann stands out as an artist who defies easy categorization. Performed by illustrious orchestras and soloists throughout the world, his music has delighted listeners and critics alike. He is that rare phenomenon: a composer of immense popularity and lasting profundity.

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 Hummel in the March 26, 2024 edition of the Flute Examiner.

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.

Not content to compose, Mr. Liebermann excels as a solo pianist both live and in recording. When he performed at the piano in his own work with the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall's Stern.

This past fall, Mr. Liebermann was appointed Artistic Director of "Thornwillow Concerts at Calvary" in Newburgh, NY. Monthly classical concerts take place at the renovated Calvary Presbyterian Church, which houses a newly restored historic Skinner pipe organ and a Steinway Model D Concert Grand. As part of the series, he partnered as pianist with countertenor Daniel Moody in a performance of Schubert's canonic song cycle "Winterreise." For this concert Mr. Liebermann created a new translation from the German, which is published by Thornwillow Press.

Mr. Liebermann 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, featuring music of contemporary British composer David Hackbridge Johnson. An album of piano music by German Romantic composer Theodor Kirchner was released in fall of 2023. A Steinway artist, Mr. Liebermann made his Berlin debut performing his Piano Quintet with members of the Berlin Philharmonic.

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.

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, Mr. Liebermann has amassed a remarkable discography. 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; and 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.

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.

THORNWILLOW CONCERTS AT CALVARY 2024-2025 SEASON

Saturday, November 9, 2024, 5 p.m.

Sergei Kvitko, piano

Schubert: the complete Impromptus and Moments Musicaux

Saturday, January 25, 2025, 5 p.m.

Johannes Gray, cello; Anastasiya Magamedova, piano

Chopin: Sonata for cello and piano
Rachmaninoff: Sonata for Cello and Piano

Saturday, February 22, 2025, 5 p.m.

Anastasiia Larchikova and Mykhailo Diordiev, piano duet

Almashi: Carpathian song
Skoryk: Three extravagant dances
Dvorak: Slavonic Dance op. 72 Nos. 1 and 2
Liebermann: Romance, Etude and Choral Op.134
Corigliano: Gazebo Dances

Saturday, March 8, 2025, 5 p.m.

Jeremy Filsell, piano and organ

Liszt: Piano Sonata in b minor
Liszt: Fantasy on "Ad Nos Salutarem Undam" for organ

Saturday, April 5, 2025, 5 p.m.

Maxim Lando, piano

Liebermann: Three Dances from Frankenstein
Bach/Brahms: Chaconne in d minor for piano left hand
Stravinsky: Three Movements from Petrouchka

Saturday, May 10, 2025, 5 p.m.

Trio Revolution (Temo Kharshiladze, flute; Sandro Sidamonidze, cello; Ketevan Sepashvili, piano)

Haydn: Flute Trio in D major
Liebermann: Trio No.2 for Flute, Cello, and Piano Op.87
Weber: Flute Trio in g minor

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