
Both an homage and a celebration, LIAISONS makes the case for Sondheim as one of the 20th century's most influential composers - as at home in the concert hall as on the Broadway stage. It is also an expression of de Mare’s versatility, and his commitment to contemporary composers: the Project’s roster spans the worlds of classical, jazz, opera, pop, musical theater and film. Composers hail from seven different countries and range in age from 30 to 75, representing more than 34 Pulitzers, Grammys, Tonys and Academy Awards.
Since 2011 de Mare has performed over 50 different LIAISONS concerts to full houses across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and the U.K. (see Concerts page). Commissioned by individuals and institutions across the country, all 36 pieces received New York premieres over a series of three sold-out concerts at Symphony Space in 2012, 2013, and 2015. Mr. Sondheim attended all three concerts and participated in live onstage interviews in 2012 and 2013.
In the fall of 2015, LIAISONS was released by ECM Records on their New Series label and promptly garnered worldwide accolades including top mentions on the "Best of 2015" lists by NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Daily Beast, the Chicago Tribune, and the San Francisco Examiner. In celebration of the release, de Mare played the entire collection across a three-concert series in NYC at Birdland, The Sheen Center and Symphony Space.
The complete folio of LIAISONS scores was published in the spring of 2017 and is now available from Hal Leonard; Mr. de Mare continues to perform from the collection in major cities, concert halls, and festivals around the world.
“To hear composers take my work and take it seriously... it’s a thrill.”
– Stephen Sondheim
April 2012
“Not just inventive piano arrangements of the songs but new compositions written in the composers’ own styles... it was fascinating to hear how each composer approached the song. Mr. de Mare’s playing was dynamic and stylish, requiring formidable virtuosity... I loved it. "
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August 2014
"It’s not just that many of the individual new works are so appealing. It’s that de Mare’s passion and vision almost radiate from the stage. He underscores the serious nature of Sondheim’s musical accomplishment, and he causes all involved — composers, performer and audience members — to think about how music is made and how we listen to it."
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August 2013
"After seeing de Mare’s triumphant performance, we definitely want to gain a deeper knowledge of the musicals. Moreover, we were impressed by de Mare’s ability to master everything from the most pyrotechnical classical compositions to the suave style of the jazz works..."
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March 2013
" An adventurous project... Mr. de Mare performed with vivid commitment throughout, fully plumbing the nuances of each work. "
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September 2012
“De Mare is a dynamic pianist, with technique and musicianship to burn. For those who love Sondheim and are interested in hearing new work from a variety of contemporary composers, [Liaisons is] a must-see occasion.
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September 2012
“The variety of the settings kept the audience engaged, and de Mare was formidable throughout. The evening was a refreshing alternative to the typical recital, and successfully promoted Sondheim's legacy as well...
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June 2012
“A thrilling program… filled with surprise and inventiveness.”
May 2012
“The concert offered a wide range of compositional styles and moods, highly colorful, and superbly played by de Mare.
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March 2012
“Liaisons is a revelation… a delightful recital with an exuberant close. De Mare’s playing was superb throughout, a combination of lyrical reflection and extroverted pyrotechnics.”
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February 2012
“Just when you thought that there wasn't anything new in piano recitals anymore, along comes Anthony de Mare … a first-class pianist whose list of composer friends is a virtual who's who of American music… each piece is a fascinating exploration of the composer's style.”
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January 2012
“The ambitious endeavor of Anthony de Mare to create liaisons between musical theater and so-called “art-music” brings out his formidable piano technique and his charming, easy manner.”
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August 2011
“If anyone still doubted Sondheim’s prowess as an instrumental composer, this project should firmly lay those doubts to rest… de Mare’s concert kicked off energetically and his illuminating stage comments relaxed the atmosphere.”
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“The ambitious endeavor of Anthony de Mare to create liaisons between musical theater and so-called “art-music” brings out his formidable piano technique and his charming, easy manner.”
Past Performances
Liaisons works by Nico Muhly, Mark Anthony Turnage, Mason Bates and Paul Moravec
booking, please contact Bernstein Artists, Inc.
sue@bernsarts.com
718-623-1214
www.bernsarts.com
for all other inquiries, please contact Rachel Colbert
rcolbert@theliaisonsproject.com
The complete set of Liaisons scores is now available for pre-order from Hal Leonard
Select digital scores are also available at sheetmusicdirect.com
- Jesse Green, NY Magazine
"A starry who’s who of the contemporary music world... Each composer was asked to do a free treatment of a Sondheim song, and the results - on this irresistible new CD set – are little short of breathtaking… the whole undertaking is a triumph."
- Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
"Background music this is not. De Mare renders lyricism with a dreamy, even gossamer touch; in rambunctious numbers, he goes gorgeously bananas. Yet even the wildest inventions never obscure our octogenarian wunderkind of the American musical... what De Mare hath wrought, with the help of his many collaborators, adds up a collective Goldberg Variations for Sondheim."
- Matthew Gruewitsch, Pundicity
Coming soon...




All donations are tax-deductible through Fractured Atlas.
We are deeply grateful to the following donors for their support of the commissions and recording (as of June 30, 2015): Ryan Anderson • Celia Asbell • Steven Bell • Derek Bermel • Sue Renee Bernstein • Martin Blanco • Roxanne And Scott Bok • John Brennan •Sammy Buck • Daniel Chadburn • Jenny Chai •Mary Ellen Clark • Joachim Coghlan • Zachary Cohn • Jeannie Colbert • Gilbert Cole • Philip Crosby • Anne De Mare • Viola De Mare • Alek Deva • Beth Rudin Dewoody • Erika Dohi • Arthur Don • George Dougherty • Andrew Duxbury • Kirsten Egenes • Stuart Evans • Karl Maria Fattig • Thomas G Felt • Illya Filshtinskiy • Charles Finn • William Fletcher • Heather And Justin Frank, MD • Shelly Freeman • Dan Gallagher and Peter Shearer • Craig Glenday • Frank Godchaux and Mark Murashige • Harold Gray • Amy Gustafson • Michael Halberstam • Jefrey Hall-Flavin • Shelly Freeman • Samantha Harris • Sharonne Hayes • Jean Heins • Paul Henderson • Isabel Hernandez-Cata • William Hill • Elisabeth Ho • Paul Hogarth • Mark Horowitz • David Humphrey • Richard Hurst • Rika Iino • Ed Sylvanus Iskandar • Jewish Communal Fund • Sarah Johnson • Ellen Krupa • Earl Kunz • Paul Lazarus • Gary Ledet • Thomas Leonard • David Levy • Louis C Liberatore • Bob And Anna Livingston • Robert Lobiondo • Raymond Longa • Paul Maggio • Steven Mann • Barbara Marcin Ullman • James and Ellen Marcus • Michael Marton • Jill Matichak • Michael McElroy • John McKeever • David McMullen • William Merrill • Solomon Mikowsky • Ann Miner • Evan Mirapaul • Matthew Mirapaul • Ashil Mistry • Elliot Mitchell • Fran Morris Rosman • Martin L. And Lucy Miller Murray • Alexandra Murray-Duffy • Nicholas Nash • Ian Nisbet • Gerd Nowaczyk • Catherine Oconnor • Jonah Orlofsky • Stephen Ortiz • Cormac Ose • Carol Ostrow • Robert Paterson • Perry And Martin Granoff • Daniel Petry • Lex Poppens • David Rakowski • Anthony Razzano • Mark Redanty • Elaine Reed • Benjamin and Donna Rosen • Tamar Rozin Muskal • Wally Rubin • May and Samuel Rudin Foundation • Anthony Ruth • Eleanor Shakin • Steven Shankroff • David and Alice Shearer • Peter Shearer • Ted And Mary Jo Shen • The Shen Family Foundation • Scott Smith • William S Smoot • Annaliese Soros • Tom Spain • Bernadette Speach • Stonewall Community Foundation • Andrei Strizek • Richard and Linda J. Sweetnam • Carmen H. Tellez • William E. Terry • April M Thibeault • Gabriel Tsai • Paul Upham • William Upham • The Ursetti Family • Douglas Van Epps • C. Vogel • Robert Weirich • Morton Weisman • Emmeline Wexer • William White • Patrick Willingham • Walt Winnowski • Cary Wong • Raymond Wong • Anonymous (21)
Liaisons is an enormously ambitious endeavor whose launch took the support of many generous and visionary donors. We are deeeply grateful to them, and to all 145 participants of our recent INDIEGOGO campaign.
Please join the LIAISONS team with a tax-deductible donation through Fractured Atlas! Contributions of any size are deeply appreciated and can be put toward various project components including commissions, production costs, archival documentation, film and video creation, and recording costs. Please see the Commissions page for a list of commissioners and their pieces.

Donors as of June 30, 2015:
Ryan Anderson • Celia Asbell • Steven Bell • Derek Bermel • Sue Renee Bernstein • Martin Blanco • Roxanne And Scott Bok • John Brennan •Sammy Buck • Daniel Chadburn • Jenny Chai •Mary Ellen Clark • Joachim Coghlan • Zachary Cohn • Jeannie Colbert • Gilbert Cole • Philip Crosby • Anne De Mare • Viola De Mare • Alek Deva • Beth Rudin Dewoody • Erika Dohi • Arthur Don • George Dougherty • Andrew Duxbury • Kirsten Egenes • Stuart Evans • Karl Maria Fattig • Thomas G Felt • Illya Filshtinskiy • Charles Finn • William Fletcher • Heather And Justin Frank, MD • Shelly Freeman • Dan Gallagher and Peter Shearer • Craig Glenday • Frank Godchaux and Mark Murashige • Harold Gray • Amy Gustafson • Michael Halberstam • Jefrey Hall-Flavin • Shelly Freeman • Samantha Harris • Sharonne Hayes • Jean Heins • Paul Henderson • Isabel Hernandez-Cata • William Hill • Elisabeth Ho • Paul Hogarth • Mark Horowitz • David Humphrey • Richard Hurst • Rika Iino • Ed Sylvanus Iskandar • Jewish Communal Fund • Sarah Johnson • Ellen Krupa • Earl Kunz • Paul Lazarus • Gary Ledet • Thomas Leonard • David Levy • Louis C Liberatore • Bob And Anna Livingston • Robert Lobiondo • Raymond Longa • Paul Maggio • Steven Mann • Barbara Marcin Ullman • James and Ellen Marcus • Michael Marton • Jill Matichak • Michael McElroy • John McKeever • David McMullen • William Merrill • Solomon Mikowsky • Ann Miner • Evan Mirapaul • Matthew Mirapaul • Ashil Mistry • Elliot Mitchell • Fran Morris Rosman • Martin L. And Lucy Miller Murray • Alexandra Murray-Duffy • Nicholas Nash • Ian Nisbet • Gerd Nowaczyk • Catherine Oconnor • Jonah Orlofsky • Stephen Ortiz • Cormac Ose • Carol Ostrow • Robert Paterson • Perry And Martin Granoff • Daniel Petry • Lex Poppens • David Rakowski • Anthony Razzano • Mark Redanty • Elaine Reed • Benjamin and Donna Rosen • Tamar Rozin Muskal • Wally Rubin • May and Samuel Rudin Foundation • Anthony Ruth • Eleanor Shakin • Steven Shankroff • David and Alice Shearer • Peter Shearer • Ted And Mary Jo Shen • The Shen Family Foundation • Scott Smith • William S Smoot • Annaliese Soros • Tom Spain • Bernadette Speach • Stonewall Community Foundation • Andrei Strizek • Richard and Linda J. Sweetnam • Carmen H. Tellez • William E. Terry • April M Thibeault • Gabriel Tsai • Paul Upham • William Upham • The Ursetti Family • Douglas Van Epps • C. Vogel • Robert Weirich • Morton Weisman • Emmeline Wexer • William White • Patrick Willingham • Walt Winnowski • Cary Wong • Raymond Wong • Anonymous (21)
Single programs last from 60-90 minutes and contain approximately 11-14 pieces. As many as three fully distinct programs can be performed consecutively. Mr. de Mare delivers brief commentary between pieces, and multi-media components are also available that complement and contextualize the performance. These include background slides with animated text, audio clips from interviews with the composers, and an edited 4-minute filmed of Sondheim’s live onstage interview at the NYC premiere.
The multimedia component is delivered as a specially created integrated Flash program; technical requirements are a projector with a DVI, HDMI or VGA input and/or connection to a computer running Windows XP (or later) or Mac OS X. In addition, three pieces require CD or mp3 playback along with a stage audio monitor for the performer: Steve Reich’s Finishing the Hat, Jason Robert Brown’s Birds of Victorian England and Duncan Sheik's Johanna... in space.
A master teacher and lecturer, Mr. de Mare can offer residencies and lectures as well as day-, week- or semester-long curricula based on Liaisons material.