Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 82.(Book review)

Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 82, by Lowell Liebermann. Theodore Presser Company (www.presser.com; (610) 592-1222), 2007. 20pp. $16.95.

Lowell Liebermann's long-awaited third piano sonata is now available through Theodore Presser Company. Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 82, composed in 2002, was commissioned by the American Pianists' Association for pianist James Giles, who premiered the work on April 11, 2003. As is the case with Liebermann's early works for solo piano, he manages to draw from the piano powerful and evocative sonorities that reveal a fondness for great keyboard traditions of the past, while simultaneously creating a unique sound environment.

The one-movement sonata follows a traditional fast-slow-fast structure combining elements of tonal, atonal and chromatic writing that is organically fused through motivic, rhythmic and thematic unity. The opening fast section, Con tuttaforza, evokes the music of Shostakovich with stark, exposed dissonances in the low register, angular rhythmic motives, clarity of texture and expertly crafted contrapuntal features. The final Allegro recalls earlier musical material, now ...