Gargoyles

for Piano

By Lowell Liebermann

This is an incredible piece of music, and it has already gained a well-deserved spot in the standard concert repertoire. The third movement is heart-stoppingly beautiful and could easily be used as an encore or programmed on its own. There are a lot of tricky passages, and this...

is certainly a virtuoso piece.

Very interesting piece. Stephen Hough recorded this. That is How I got interested in the piece

This is one of Liebermann's most often performed pieces, and it's no wonder: of the four, three are brilliant virtuoso show pieces. But so traditional! No. 3 could have been written by Debussy. No. 4 owes nearly everything to Liszt. No. 1 is the kind of demonic march...

that Bartok made famous, but Liszt and Reger pioneered. Liebermann's music is showy and effective but diffuse: even when the energy level is so high, the pieces lose momentum because of lack of concision or an absence of sharp edges. Compare the first piece here to Bartok's Op. 14 or the Allegro Barbaro, or some of Liszt's late Csardas pieces -- or to Sebastian Currier's much more energetic "Scarlatti Cadences." Given that the fourth piece, especially, requires technique on the order of the "Transcendental Etudes," are they really the best choice for hours of practicing?

This set of 4 Gargoyles is wonderful. Each piece depicts a different gargoyle and is an etude in effect. They are very difficult as a whole and there are no fingerings given throughout the whole book. They are difficult to learn but very impressive when mastered.

Im playing this song as my contemporary piece for my college audition and it was recommended by the music director at USC. Its very strang but very fun to play im only through the 1st and 2nd movements tho. If you start it and dont really like it keep with...

it its a great song.