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University of North Texas

Peter Lieberson's First Piano Concerto: A Buddhist-inspired poetic vision realized through twelve-tone language, other contemporary compositional techniques, together with three recitals of works by Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Albéniz, Grieg, Ginastera and Paderecki

Abstract

dc:description

The main objective of this document is to explore the life and spiritual convictions of composer Peter Lieberson, and the creation of his Piano Concerto. Lieberson is a sought after composer who has won many awards and commissions. His works have been premiered and performed by some of the best musical artists of the late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century, such as Peter Serkin, Emmanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, and Pierre Boulez. This study is divided into six chapters. After the Introduction, a biographical summary of Peter Lieberson's life, his spiritual beliefs and compositional style is presented. Chapter II contains background information on the Piano Concerto, along with biographical sketches of Peter Serkin, for whom the work was written, and Seiji Ozawa, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and conductor of both the premier performance and Serkin's recording of the piece. Chapter III is a selective survey of the compositional techniques used in Lieberson's Concerto, in terms of the application of twelve-tone theory and the resulting octatonic, pentatonic, and whole-tone scales. Chapter IV introduces a general overview of the influence of Buddhism as a source of inspiration in the Piano Concerto. Chapter V examines aspects of performance practice issues. Chapter VI provides conclusions. The aim of this study is to further establish Peter Lieberson's stature as an important modern American composer. It is hoped that this study will encourage further research and interest in his works.

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor dc:publisher
University of North Texas
Year dc:date
2002

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Méndez-Flanigan, Maria Gisela
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Wodnicki, Adam J.
  • Groom-Thornton, Joan
  • Cooper, J. Michael

Subjects

dc:subject × 8

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Use restricted to UNT Community
  • Copyright
  • Méndez-Flanigan, Maria Gisela
  • Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
Language dc:language
English

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Identifier
oclc: 51004233
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3175/
ark: ark:/67531/metadc3175
OAI identifier oai:identifier
info:ark/67531/metadc3175

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of North Texas
Base URL
digital.library.unt.edu/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Méndez-Flanigan, Maria Gisela. Peter Lieberson's First Piano Concerto: A Buddhist-inspired poetic vision realized through twelve-tone language, other contemporary compositional techniques, together with three recitals of works by Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Albéniz, Grieg, Ginastera and Paderecki. University of North Texas, 2002. https://doi.org/10.12794/metadc3175