[140.1] SONATA ON FINE FORM

I didn’t manage to catch the premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s ‘Sonata No.3 op.82’ at London’s historic Wigmore Hall on 16 April, but Marc Bridle, editor of the excellent MusicWeb did, and he reports that – along with performances of works by Liszt, Schubert, Read Thomas, Hough, and Wild – it was “one of the most sheerly inspired piano recitals I can remember hearing for some time.” The soloist was American pianist James Giles, a professor at Northwestern University.

Bridle adds of the Liebermann: “Its scale is breathtaking, its drama evocative and its lasting place in the repertoire imperishable. Liebermann’s largest solo piano work to date, and his first piano sonata for 20 years, it has all the typical elements of lyrical brilliance and formidable virtuosity which were hallmarks of his two, incandescent piano concertos (recorded by Stephen Hough for Hyperion).”

[See the full review, which is well worth reading, here.]