Composer Lowell Liebermann wins $40,000 prize

NEW YORK (AP) — Lowell Liebermann has won the inaugural Virgil Thomson Award, a $40,000 prize given for outstanding composition of vocal works.

The honor was announced jointly Tuesday by the Virgil Thomson Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The 53-year-old Liebermann is known for such operas as "Miss Lonelyhearts" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray," and the compositions "Sonata for Flute and Piano" and "Concerto for Flute and Orchestra." Pianist Stephen Hough's recording of Liebermann's "Piano Concerto No. 2" received a 1998 Grammy nomination for best contemporary classical composition.

Virgil Thomson, who died in 1989 at age 92, was an influential critic and composer.