I'm tremendously sad to hear of the death of composer Peter Lieberson, this morning in Israel where he was undergoing treatment for lymphoma. A 2010 article about him in the Boston Globe, written at the time that Gerald Finley premiered Songs of Love and Sorrow, discusses his illness; diagnosed in 2007, he said in 2010 that he was probably ill while caring for his wife, the great Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, during her own final illness. Alex Ross has a touching blog entry up about Lieberson; Christian Carey remembers Lieberson at Sequenza21. Bridge Records has kindly granted permission to Sequenza21 to post one of Lieberson's works.
Update: The Times obituary, by Zachary Woolfe, is here.
4 comments:
I am sorry to read this, though I must confess I bought the Neruda Songs - which came highly recommended - and didn't care for them.
It is becoming increasingly clear to me that most of us will die within Elliott Carter's lifetime.
Chacun a son gout! Mr. Carter might outlive us all - we'll see!
I listened to the Nerdua songs again yesterday, in homage, and liked them better the second time. They remind me a little of a cross between Mahler and Berg, though without the rhythmic inventiveness of either. There was nothing like that wonderful rocking motion you hear in Der Abschied. Still, they are lovely.
So sad. I was blessed to be at the world premiere of "Neruda Songs" at WDCH w/ Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson as soloist with Salonen & the LA Phil. First and only time I've heard anything by Peter Lieberson. It was an amazingly powerful and touching performance -- many teary eyes in the audience and orchestra.
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