Rolf Liebermann (14 September 1910 – 2 January 1999), was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

composer and music administrator. He served as the artistic director of the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

from 1959 to 1973 and again from 1985 to 1988. He was also the artistic director of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

from 1973 to 1980.

Life

Liebermann was born in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, and studied composition and conducting with Hermann Scherchen in Budapest and Vienna in the 1930s, and later with

Wladimir Vogel Wladimir Rudolfowitsch Vogel (17 February/29 February 1896 – 19 June 1984) was a Swiss (people), Swiss composer of Germans, German and Russians, Russian descent. Life Born in Moscow, Vogel first studied composition in Moscow with Alexander Scri ...

in Basel. His compositional output involved several different musical genres, including chansons, classical, and light music. His classical music often combines myriad styles and techniques, including those drawn from

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

, classical, and

twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition. The technique is a means of ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale ...

music. Liebermann was the director of the Hamburg Staatsoper from 1959 to 1973, and again from 1985 to 1988. During his tenure in Hamburg, he commissioned 24 new operas, including ''The Devils'' by

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

, '' Der Prinz von Homburg'' by

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

, and '' Help, Help, the Globolinks!'' by

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...

. In the intervening years he served as director of the

from 1973 to 1980. He died in Paris. At the inaugural

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

in 1956, Liebermann acted as the president of the jury; being responsible for moderating and finalising the results of the seven international juries judging the competition. In 1992 he served on the jury of the Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition in Spain. In 1989, he was the head of the jury at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.

Works

*1943 ''Polyphone Studien'' for chamber orchestra *1944 ''Une des fins du monde'', cantata for baritone and orchestra after

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

*1945 ''Chinese Love Songs'' *1945 ''Furioso für Orchester'' *1947 '' Swiss Folk Song Suite'' (Suite über 6 schweizerische Volkslieder) *1949 ''Music'' for Orchestra and Reciter; ''Chinese Song''; ''Symphony No 1'' *1950 ''Streitlied zwischen Leben und Tod'' (Combat Song of Life and Death) *1951 Sonata for piano *1952 ' (opera). First performance: Basel *1954 ''Penelope'' (opera). First performance:

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

( George Szell/Schuh/Neher/ Anneliese Rothenberger/ Walter Berry/ Peter Klein (tenor)/ Rudolf Schock/

Max Lorenz (tenor) Max Lorenz (born Max Sülzenfuß; 10 May 1901 – 11 January 1975) was a German heldentenor famous for Richard Wagner, Wagnerian roles. Career Lorenz was born in Düsseldorf, and studied with Ernst Grenzebach in Berlin in the 1920s. He later w ...

/ Kurt Böhme/ Kurt Equiluz) *1954 ''Concerto for Jazzband and Symphony Orchestra''. First performance: Donau Festival Hall, Donaueschingen, cond. Hans Rosbaud with the Southwest Radio Orchestra of Baden-Baden and Kurt Edelhagen's Jazz Orchestra, 17 October 1954;"Experiment by Messrs. Reiner, Sauter, and Finegan." Music at Home (magazine), March-April 1955, 19. American première: the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra with the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

, cond.

Fritz Reiner Frederick Martin Reiner (; December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was an American conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to promine ...

, November 1954 (also recorded for

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

at that time) *1955 ''The School for Wives'' (opera). First performance of the one-act version: Louisville, Kentucky *1956 Executive supervisor for the

Eurovision Song Contest 1956 The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RSI) on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). The contest, origi ...

*1957 ''Die Schule der Frauen'' (opera). European premiere: Salzburg Festival (Szell/Schuh/Neher/ Walter Berry/ Kurt Böhme/ Anneliese Rothenberger/ Nicolai Gedda/ Christa Ludwig) *1958 ''Geigy Festival Concerto'' for Basler drum and orchestra *1959 ''Capriccio'' for soprano, violin and orchestra *1964 ''Concert des Echanges'', Swiss National Exhibition, Lausanne *1981 ''Essai 81'' for cello and piano *1984 ''Ferdinand'', parable for speaker and instruments *1987 ''La Forêt'' (opera). First performance: Geneva (Tate/Deflo/Orlandi) *1988 ''Herring Quintet''; ''Cosmopolitan Greetings'' (Gruntz/Wilson/Ginsberg) *1989 ''Medea Monologue'' for soprano, female choir and orchestra *1990 ''3x1 = CH+X'' for mezzo-soprano, choir, and orchestra *1992 ''Freispruch für Medea'' (opera). First performance: Hamburg 1995 *1994 ''Enigma''; Violin Concerto *1995 Piano Concerto *1996 ''Die schlesischen Weber'' (text: Heinrich Heine) for mixed choir, string quartet, and piano *1997 ''Variations on a Theme from Appenzell'' for five instruments *1998 ''Mouvance'' for nine percussion players and piano

References

External links

Rolf Liebermann
biography and works on the UE website (publisher)

at Sikorski Publishing {{DEFAULTSORT:Liebermann, Rolf 1910 births 1999 deaths Jewish classical composers 20th-century Swiss Jews Musicians from Zurich Opera managers Directors of the Paris Opera Swiss opera composers Swiss male opera composers Jewish opera composers Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Composers awarded knighthoods Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Commanders of the Legion of Honour 20th-century Swiss classical composers Jews from Hamburg 20th-century Swiss male musicians Jazz-influenced classical composers