Concerto for Flute and Orchestra Op.39 (1992)

2.2.2.2./2.2.0.0./ pno, hp, perc, timp, strs, flute solo

c. 25'00"

I. Moderato (listen to sample)
II. Molto adagio (listen to sample)
III. Presto (listen to sample)

Commissioned by James Galway

First performance: 6 November, 1992; Powell Hall; St. Louis, Missouri
James Galway, flute; The Saint Louis Symphony, Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Dedicated to James Galway

Best Newly Published Flute Work, National Flute Society, 1994

Published by Theodore Presser Company | Fl. & Pno. red. #114-40678 | Full score #416-41186L | Study Score #416-41186

Recordings:
James Galway, flute | RCA Victor Red Seal 09026-63235-2
James Galway, flute | RCA Victor Red Seal 09026-63432-2
James Galway, flute | RCA Victor Red Seal 09026-63431-2
Eugenia Zuckerman, flute | Delos DE 3256

Reviews:
"If you stopped paying attention to classical music after Britten and Shostakovitch died, it's time to tune in again. The famous flautist has put his weight behind one of America's most gifted "new tonalist" composers, with electifying results. Liebermann's three concertos are custom-made for listeners who find 12-tone music ugly and minimalism simple-minded. The harmonies are savory, the scoring luminous -- and, yes, you can hum the tunes."

Terry Teachout, TIME Magazine

"The remarkable American composer Lowell Liebermann has made quite a reputation for himself among flute players. This wonderful new recording shows the rest of us why. The three concertos on it are beautiful -- it's the kind of music you want to replay immediately after hearing it for the fist time."

Olin Chisolm, The Dallas Morning News

"With a popular Flute Sonata tucked under his belt, New Yorker Lowell Liebermann, at the instigation of James Galway, moved swiftly into concerto territory. Here Galway gives the recording premiere of these works, and true to Liebermann's audience-friendly style, they burst with optimistic, tuneful melodies and glittering, dramatic climaxes. Liebermann is a flautist's dream composer."

Kate Sherriff, BBC Music Magazine (5 stars)

"The music of Lowell Liebermann manages to be both accessibly neo-Romantic and intellectually engaging, a winning combination; anyone who dismisses contemporary music out of hand hasn't been listening to his compositions."

Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"For me, this is the most substantial and significant flute concerto of recent years."

Winds

"The orchestra's principal flutist...next joined the orchestra...in Lowell Liebermann's incredible flute concerto. This composer definitely deserves to be heard and recorded more often; his piece was very well received by the audience. It is no wonder this young American composer has garnered so much acclaim and so many awards. This piece leaves one yearning for more."

Canton Repository

"Liebermann's piece was superbly written for both soloist and orchestra, with the flute holding its own whether in dialogue with the upper strings, or topping a crescendo on the timps."

Cumberland News

"...the stunning piece on the program was Concerto for Flute and Orchestra,, Op.39, by Lowell Liebermann."

Wisconsin State Journal

"...a substantial and rewarding score that its fans are increasingly convinced is one of the best such works of the 20th century."

John W. Lambert, Classical Voice of North Carolina

"It is easy to understand why the concerto has become a favorite of flute players...While the rapid-fire fingerings required in the concerto's prestissimo final movement were spectacular and caused audience members to nearly leap to their feet for an extended ovation, it was the lushness of the piece's middle passage that proved most serene."

Bill Blankenship, Topeka Capital-Journal