Two Works By Composer Lowell Liebermann To Be Performed by The Kazakh State Symphony At Carnegie Hall

The Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra, led by internationally renowned Maestro Andreas Delfs, will make its American debut at Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall on Monday evening, October 9, 2023 at 8 p.m. EDT in a performance of two major works by GRAMMY Award-nominated American composer Lowell Liebermann. His popular Violin Concerto, featuring violinist Aiman Mussakhajayeva, and his Chamber Concerto No. 1, with the composer at the piano, will be complemented by a reading of Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 "Classical." The program commences with Kazakh composer Tles Kazhgaliev's Adagio from Symphonic Suite "The Steppe Legend" and concludes with his "Kyz Kuu" from Symphonic Suite "The Steppe Legend." The full program follows:

Tles Kazhgaliev Adagio from Symphonic Suite "The Steppe Legend"

Lowell Liebermann Violin Concerto

~ Intermission ~

Lowell Liebermann Chamber Concerto No. 1

Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No. 1, "Classical"

Tles Kazhgaliev "Kyz Kuu" from Symphonic Suite "The Steppe Legend"

General admission from $10.5 to $109 can be purchased on Carnegie Hall's website. For more information, please visit composer Lowell Liebermann's website, and Global Music'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 10 and 11, 2023, at the popular, off-beat Crypt Sessions in uptown New York City, Three Dances from Frankenstein will receive its US premiere by Gilmore Young Artist Maxim Lando. 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.

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.

ANDREAS DELFS has earned a stellar reputation as one of the most respected conductors in the orchestra world. Mr. Delfs is recognized as a successful, hands-on orchestra builder and as an imaginative and inspiring music director. His passionate and dramatic interpretations of the late romantic repertoire have drawn critical acclaim, reflecting a constantly evolving artistic maturity marked by the insight, depth, and integrity he brings to the podium. His love of new music and his commitment to discovering and exploring fresh voices have led him to establish close relationships with many of today's composers and to conduct numerous world premiere performances. Mr. Delfs counts among his profound musical inspirations composers including Hans Werner Henze, György Ligeti, Philip Glass and Roberto Sierra; he has partnered with many of the world's most renowned solo artists, including André Watts, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang and Renée Fleming.

He has held chief artistic posts with several orchestras in North America and Europe. As Music Director (1996-2009) and Conductor Laureate (2009-2015) of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Delfs was instrumental in the orchestra's rise to national prominence. He also led the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as Music Director (2001-2004) and Artistic Consultant (2004-2006). He served as General Music Director of Hanover, Germany (1995-2000), conducting the city's renowned symphony orchestra and opera company. Earlier, Mr. Delfs was Music Director of the Bern Opera; resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Lorin Maazel's tenure; and Music Director, at an early age, of the Orchestre Suisse des Jeunes.

Mr. Delfs studied with Christoph von Dohnányi and Aldo Ceccato at the Hamburg Conservatory. At 20, Mr. Delfs became the youngest-ever Music Director of the Hamburg University Orchestra and Musical Assistant at the Hamburg State Opera. He enrolled at The Juilliard School; studied with Jorge Mester, Sixten Ehrling and Leonard Bernstein; and won the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship.

Preeminent Kazakh violinist AIMAN MUSSAKHAJAYEVA is Rector and Founder of the Kazakh National University of Arts and is Artistic Director of the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with leading orchestras including the Wiener Symphoniker, the National Symphony Orchestra of Russia, and the European Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Mussakhajayeva has worked with conductors including Vladimir Fedoseyev, Valery Gergiev, and Vladimir Ashkenazy; and has collaborated with musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, Mischa Maisky, and Bruno Canino. She has won awards at numerous competitions, including the International Jeunesses Musicales Competition (Belgrade, 1976), The Sibelius International Competition (Helsinki, 1985), and the International Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow, 1986)

Ms. Mussakhajayeva's recordings have appeared on Deutsche Grammophon, Consonance, and, most recently, in a world premiere disc of violin works by Lowell Liebermann, on Blue Griffin Records. Róbert Szatmári of Papageno praised Ms. Mussakhajayeva's "expert interpretation" of this "lively, emotional ... music."

Ms. Mussakhajayeva is the People's Artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan and a UNESCO Artist for Peace. She received the highest state title, Kazakhstan Enbek Eri, for her outstanding contribution to the Republic's cultural development. She received the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the fields of literature, art, and architecture in 2000. She is an Academician of the International Academy of Art and a Cavalier of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. She has also received the Gustav Mahler Silver Medal, the Vatican Award, and the Santa Cecilia Silver Cup for her contributions to cultural ties between Italy and Kazakhstan.

Ms. Mussakhajayeva performs on a 1732 Stradivarius. She is the subject of the documentary film AIMAIN: A Soloist on the Steppes by the Emmy-nominated director/producer team Bernadette Wegenstein and Annette Porter.

Founded by Aiman Mussakhajayeva in 1991, the KAZAKH STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA has become one of the leading orchestras in Central Asia. Through international concert tours, the orchestra represents Kazakhstan's tradition of musical art and performance and develops international cultural relations.

With the support of the Republic of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Culture and Sports and the State Concert Organization Qazaqconcert, the orchestra has performed in the most prominent concert halls of Europe, Asia, and America, and collaborates with leading conductors and soloists from around the world.

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