Peter Lieberson

Peter Lieberson (born 25 October 1946 in New York City ) is an American composer. His mother Eva Brigitta Hartwig was a ballerina and choreographer , also professionally known as Vera Zorina . His father, Goddard Lieberson , was president of Columbia Records . Lieberson studied composition with Milton Babbitt , Charles Wuorinen , Donald Martino , and Martin Boykan . After completing his musical studies at Columbia University , he left New York in 1976 for Boulder , Colorado to continue his studies with Chogyam Trungpa , a Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist master. It was there he met and married Ellen Kearney, a fellow student of Chogyam Trungpa. At the request of their teacher, the Liebersons moved from Boulder to Boston, Massachusetts to co-direct Shambhala Training , a meditation and cultural program. Lieberson attended Brandeis University , from which he received a Ph.D. From 1984 to 1988 he taught at Harvard University . He then became international director of Shambhala Training in Halifax, Nova Scotia . Since 1994, Lieberson has devoted his time entirely to composition. He wrote his song cycles Rilke Songs and Neruda Songs for his second wife, mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson . The Neruda Songs were co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony ; the world premiere was given on May 20, 2005, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting and Hunt Lieberson as soloist. The Boston Symphony performed the work in November 2005 with James Levine conducting, followed by performances with the Cleveland Orchestra , Robert Spano conducting. Nonesuch subsequently released a commercial recording in 2006 of the Boston/Levine performance. In December 2007, Lieberson won the 2008 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for Neruda Songs . Lieberson has three daughters from his first marriage. He and Lorraine Hunt met in 1997 during the Santa Fe Opera production of his work Ashoka's Dream and married in 1999 after he and his first wife were divorced. They remained married until her death in July 2006. Shortly after Lorraine died, Peter Lieberson himself was diagnosed with cancer. He battled a serious lymphoma , which appears to be in full remission. He has remarried and currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico . Philharmonic pairs Lieberman's exquisite 'Neruda Songs' with Shostakovich's nasty broadside at Stalin".

Peter Lieberson (October 25, 1946 – April 23, 2011) was an American classical composer .

American classical composer (1946–2011) Peter Goddard Lieberson (25 October 1946 – 23 April 2011) was an American composer of contemporary classical music . His song cycles include two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Music : Rilke Songs and Neruda Songs ; the latter won the 2008 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and both were written for his wife, the mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson . His three piano concertos were each premiered by the pianist Peter Serkin , with the 1st and 3rd also being Pulitzer finalists.

American classical composer (1946–2011) Peter Goddard Lieberson (25 October 1946 – 23 April 2011, aged 64) was an American composer of contemporary classical music . His song cycles include two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Music : Rilke Songs and Neruda Songs ; the latter won the 2008 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and both were written for his wife, the mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson . His three piano concertos were each premiered by the pianist Peter Serkin , with the 1st and 3rd also being Pulitzer finalists.