No doubt, more listeners will come to this album as devotees of the late mezzo-soprano
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson than as admirers of her husband, the composer Peter Lieberson. But the power of all three works recorded here should prove that their marriage was one of creative equals. The
Rilke Songs (1997-2001) form the first of two cycles composed by Lieberson for his wife. The later set of
Neruda Songs (available on a Nonesuch recording) seems so deeply personal that it's hard to imagine anyone other than Hunt Lieberson singing them. But these Rilke settings, while no less exquisitely tailored to her voice, ought to be taken up widely by performers as a strikingly sensitive contribution to the song repertoire. The composer has written that he learned the importance of lyricism from hearing his wife's singing, and the
Rilke Songs are prime evidence of how well that lesson was learned. In this live recording from 2004, Hunt Lieberson and pianist Peter Serkin team up for a haunting performance that delves intently into Rilke's ambiguous verse and Lieberson's richly sensuous melodies, redolent of the late Romanticism of a century ago. Lieberson's Horn Concerto -- performed by William Purvis, who also premiered it in 1999 -- is more lighthearted, perfectly attuned to the solo instrument's varied qualities of tone and color; but in the more lyrical sections, it's tempting to hear the influence of Hunt Lieberson's expressive voice on the composer's style. That's even more true in
The Six Realms (1999-2000), a concerto for amplified cello and orchestra. The title refers to principles of Tibetan Buddhism, which Lieberson has long practiced, and the work balances meditative passages with outbursts of exuberance, anger, and passion, all of which are navigated with compelling force and concentration by cellist Michaela Fukacova. What these pieces share is Lieberson's ability -- less than common among serious contemporary composers -- to communicate emotionally with audiences, a capacity that his relationship with Lorraine Hunt Liberson seems to have brought into progressively greater focus.
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