Lowell Liebermann is one of America's most frequently performed and commissioned composers. Called by the New York Times "as much of a traditionalist as an innovator," Mr. Liebermann writes music known for its technical command and audience appeal. He is the composer for Center City Opera Theater's upcoming production of The Picture of Dorian Gray. He recently took a moment to describe what he, as a composer, faces in today's modern musical language.

CATCHING UP WITH COMPOSER
LOWELL LIEBERMANN
BY JANELLE MCCOY

Q. Being a musician myself, though not a composer, it seems daunting to me to be a composer in this era of music. In Western music, you’ve inherited such rich traditions from Rameau to the 20th century. Not only does one have the new definitions of rhythm, harmony and form in the 20th century, but being in a global age, one can also borrow from other cultures outside of Western music. How do you approach, develop and find your compositional voice at this point in time?

A. Compositional voice is not really something one can consciously shape. It happens by default because everything you hear and write becomes filtered through your own personality.

Q. Do you think it is more difficult for composers living today?

A. It was never easy, but computer notation programs have certainly made a composer’s job easier. (For example, the manuscript of The Picture of Dorian Gray is over 700 pages of handwritten ink! That was quite an undertaking.)

Q. Some people are turned off by the concept of “contemporary” or “new” music, feeling as though it is inaccessible. How would you suggest that one might listen to new music?

A. The same way you listen to old music. And it’s OK not to like something!

Q. How important is it that music be accessible on its first hearing?

A. For me music, like all art, is a form of communication. If a work is so obscure as to be incomprehensible, to me that is a problem with the artist’s language. If art does not communicate, why bother?

LIEBERMANN (cont'd)

Q. Do you find your compositions influenced by the audience for whom you are writing or are your compositions guided more by the art form and your inner voice?

A. I write for an audience that shares my tastes.

Q. How do you compose? Do you first sketch?

A. Yes.

Q. What do you feel when you confront a blank sheet of paper?

A. Like I need a vacation.

Q. What would you say are the most important influences on your music?

A. That gets harder and harder to say as I get older because almost everything becomes an influence, whether it be negative or positive.

Q. How great is the influence of aleatoric music, electronic music or music like that of John Cage in your career as a composer?

A. I hope none.

Q. Similarly, in what ways do other art disciplines impact your music (i.e. ballet, stage theater, visual arts)?

A. I don’t think they do.

Q. You chose novels as the libretti for both of your operas. How do you evaluate materials upon which you base your works (operatic and non-operatic)?

A. Subjects interest me when I see a direct connection between the literary forms and the musical devices.

LIEBERMANN (cont'd)

Q. I am fascinated by conductors like the Atlanta Symphony's Bob Spano who champion contemporary composers such as Jennifer Higdon and Osvaldo Golijov, both of whom have had their works win Grammy Awards for their recordings in Atlanta. Likewise, Dawn Upshaw has worked to bring contemporary music to commercial light. At the same time, Spano and Upshaw have to balance standard repertoire with what is contemporary. What do you feel are the greatest challenges in integrating and balancing new music with standard repertoire?

A. I don’t see it as a challenge. If you have an interest in new music as a performer, you program it. Most likely, the greatest challenge is getting presenters to accept new music.

Q. Miss Lonelyhearts, your second opera, recently had its début. How did writing your second opera compare to writing your first opera The Picture of Dorian Gray?

A. It’s difficult to compare the two. They are very different works. However, I find opera is one of the most enjoyable forms for which to compose.

Q. I have often found that composers new to writing for the voice truly do not understand the mechanics and nuances behind each fach (i.e. lyric soprano, dramatic tenor). Did you find it difficult when you began writing for voice?

A. Not especially.

Q. How has your understanding of the voice changed from when you began writing for it?

A.Of course one gains more experience the more one does it, but I don’t think anything has changed drastically.

Mezzo-soprano Janelle McCoy frequently performs opera, pops, orchestral and chamber works across the United States and in Europe. Her next appearance is with world-renown classical guitarist Joel Brown at the Luzerne Music Festival.