San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Joseph Liebling — versatile Bay Area choral conductor
Joseph Liebling, the energetic and resourceful choral conductor whose leadership helped shape the sounds of numerous Bay Area ensembles — in particular the Oakland Symphony Chorus, which he directed for 23 years — died July 4 of heart failure. He was 93.
His death was confirmed by his former colleague and longtime friend Carol Handelman.
As a conductor, Liebling cultivated a wide repertoire that included everything from Bach to Stravinsky. The ensembles he led could be counted on for technical precision and meticulous preparation, as well as a measure of expressive freedom.
In a 1985 review of a performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony, former Chronicle music critic Heuwell Tircuit wrote that “Joseph Liebling’s Symphony Chorus covered itself with glory, both in the quiet unaccompanied passages and against Mahler’s inflated ravings.” Later that year, Chronicle music critic Marilyn Tucker was even more enthusiastic about the chorus’ contributions in a performance of Handel’s “Messiah.”
“Never have I heard the Oakland Symphony Chorus, trained to the nines by Joseph Liebling, sound so fresh, well balanced and fine,” she wrote. “The glorious effects in chorus after chorus were stirring.”
Liebling led that chorus from 1966 to 1989, working with a series of orchestral music directors that included Gerhard Samuel, Harold Farberman, Calvin Simmons and Richard Buckley. After a 1968 concert of Stravinsky’s music at which the composer was present, his secretary, Robert Craft, wrote to Liebling to convey Stravinsky’s delight at the quality of the performance.
But Liebling worked with many other local ensembles as well, including the Richmond Symphony Chorus (now known as the Contra Costa Chorale), which he founded, and the Midsummer Mozart Festival. By his own reckoning, he at one point conducted seven choruses. He was also on the
The ensembles he led could be counted on for technical precision and meticulous preparation.
faculty of several educational institutions, including Laney College, Sonoma State University and St. Mary’s College.
Liebling was born April 4, 1927, in New York City, where he earned degrees in piano and orchestral conducting from the Juilliard School and Columbia University. He was inspired to pursue choral conducting after singing under the famed American conductor
Robert Shaw as a student at New York’s High School of Music and Art.
Liebling retired in 1989, but remained busy as a pianist, guest conductor and klezmer musician.
He was also an avid salsa dancer. In 2007, a Chronicle reporter found him on the dance floor at Berkeley’s nightclub the Shattuck Down Low, outlasting dancers half his age.
“I love to dance,” Liebling said. “The vibes are great, and the energy’s wonderful.”
Liebling is survived by his sister, RuthAnn “Cookie” Goldstone, of Shaftsbury, Vt.; niece, Barbara Robertson; and nephew, Jeffrey Goldstone.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Oakland Symphony, the Crowden School or Berkeley Community Chorus & Orchestra.
Joshua Kosman is The San Francisco Chronicle’s music critic. Email: jkosman@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JoshuaKosman