Variations on a Theme by Mozart for two pianos Op.42 (1993) c.18'00"

Commissioned for the Bradshaw and Buono Duo by Victor D. Wortman for his wife, Susan Wortmann

First performed on February 26th, 1996 at Weil Recital Hall in New York City by Bradshaw and Buono, duo-pianists

RECORDINGS

REVIEWS

“The piano works of American Composer Lowell Liebermann (b.1961) are significant and poetic additions to the keyboard repertoire. One of the most successful composers of his generation, Liebermann is also controversial, especially in “progressive” musical circles. His music is mostly tonal, beautiful, and - unforgivable to some critics and academics - popular and accessible…Liebermann is often categorized as a postmodern tonalist or neoromantic, but such pigeonholing can diminish the distinctive qualities and traits of such an individual composer. His works maintain a strong sense of structural and emotional balance and proportion. The ability to write beautiful, soaring, and memorable melodies attests to his great lyric affinity. Throughout his music, Liebermann makes imaginative use of a rich a varied harmonic and textural palette, and he often demands superior technical ability from his performers. Liebermann’s work for piano are written with a masterly command of idiomatic keyboard writing. He is a formidable pianist who understands (and exploits) the coloristic and virtuoso possibilities of the instrument…The Variations on a Theme by Mozart, Op.42 (1993)…is a major contribution to the piano duet repertoire.”
William T. Spiller, Notes

“There’s not a dull moment in this music…in the Mozart variations he indulges in a more playful and humorous approach, without cheapening the music one iota.”
American Record Guide