Lowell Liebermann: Gargoyles, Op. 29 (1989)
Miloslav Kabeláč: Eight Preludes, Op. 30 (1956)
Franz Liszt: Totentanz, S 525 (1864)
Lowell Liebermann: Four Apparitions, Op. 17 (1985)
Franz Schubert: Variations on a theme by Anselm Hüttenbrenner in A Minor, D. 576 (1817)
Ferruccio Busoni: Fantasia Contrappuntistica, BV 256 (1910)
Lowell Liebermann: Nocturne No. 10, Op. 99 (2007)

While listening to this recording I was struggling with the decision as to where to list it on this website. Under piano collections or under composers. It eventually became clear that Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961) is just as good if not better a composer than a pianist. And since he's a stupendous pianist that says a great deal. Take the opening Presto and closing Presto feroce from Gargoyles for example. So devilishly (pun intended) demanding in a technical sense, and yet burning with an intense romantic fire (pun intended). The type of piano piece virtuosos like Marc-André Hamelin like to dazzle with. Or the Allegro moderato from the same suite, spun of sparkling light and shimmering wings. A delight to hear. And at the other end of the spectrum lies his Nocturne No. 10 written in memoriam to Gian Carlo Menotti. A harmonically complex and probing work that in the end resolves to a simple and yet tender and profound farewell. A fitting way to end the program.

The title of this 2-Disc set is Personal Demons and according to the booklet notes by Liebermann himself: "consists of music that I have been personally haunted by - pieces by other composers that have preoccupied and inspired me for most of my compositional career, ones that "I wish I wrote." These include the rarely heard (only one other recording I believe) set of Eight Preludes, Op. 30 by Czech composer Miloslav Kabeláč (1908-1979) who is often compared to Leos Janáček or Bohuslav Martinů. His particular idiosyncrasy seems to be the development and inclusion of unusual intervals. Liebermann admires them for their "jewel-like clarity". And I'm sure we can all understand anyone's fixation on Franz Liszt's dark and foreboding Totentanz. Any adolescent musician would attach gothic images and attributes to its subject matter. Its technical wizardry alone is enough to impress anyone, and Liebermann nails it. If anyone could write something this elaborate based on something as simple as the Gregorian mass Dies Irae, that would be Franz Liszt. And the unmitigated depth and complexity of Ferruccio Busoni's Fantasia Contrappuntistica should be enough to compel any pianist to scale its heights and come out the other end with a better understanding of counterpoint.

Booklet notes: Lowell Liebermann is one of America's most frequently performed and recorded living composers. He has written over one hundred thirty works in all genres, several of which have gone on to become standard repertoire for their instruments, such as his Sonata for Flute and Piano and Gargoyles for piano, each of which have been recorded over twenty times.