Lowell Liebermann: Violin Concerto, Op. 74 | Chamber Concertos 1 and 2 | Air

Aiman Mussakhajayeva, violin

Lowell Liebermann, piano

Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra

Tigran Shiganyan, conductor

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 74 (2001)

[01] Appassionato

[02] Lento

[03] Allegro

[04] Chamber concerto No. 1, Op. 28A (1989/2022) for Violin, Piano, and String Orchestra*

[05] Chamber concerto No. 2, Op. 28B (2006/2022) for Violin and String Orchestra

[06] Air, Op. 118 (2011) for Violin and String Orchestra

*with Lowell Liebermann, piano

Lowell Liebermann is one of America's most frequently performed and recorded composers of our time. A new album out May 19, 2023 on Blue Griffin Records (BGR645) features four world premiere recordings by Liebermann for violin and orchestra. The album spotlights the exceptional artistry of Kazakhstani violinist Aiman Mussakhajayeva (EYE-mahn mou-sah-ha-jah-YEH-vah) with the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra led by Tigran Shiganyan. 

Ms. Mussakhajayeva is a preeminent Kazakh violinist and prominent public figure who is the founder and rector of the Kazakh National University of Arts, and founder and artistic director of the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra. She has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Mischa Maisky, Valery Gergiev, and Vladimir Ashkenanzy among others, and has recorded for Deutsche Gramophone with the Weiner Symphoniker. UNESCO has named her an Artist for Peace, and she's received the prestigious title of People's Artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan for her significant achievements and their importance in promoting and enriching Kazakhstan arts and culture. She performs on a 1732 Stradivarius.

Liebermann and Mussakhajayeva’s new album spans over thirty years of the former’s career, offering a vivid picture of his compositional personality. The centerpiece of the album is his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2001), which was premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Charles Dutoit with violinist Chantal Juilliet. The Philadelphia Inquirer anticipated that the concerto might achieve “a popularity not enjoyed by any other violin concerto since the Barber.” Liebermann created arrangements for string orchestra of his two Chamber Concertos especially for this recording, and is the piano soloist on his Chamber Concerto No. 1 for violin, piano, and string orchestra.

This recording was made possible by Global Music Partnership, whose mission is to foster a creative collaboration in a diverse network of performing artists while pushing boundaries between countries and cultures. Critically acclaimed, Latin GRAMMY-nominated Sergei Kvitko produced, engineered, edited, and mastered the album.