AllMusic‘s James Manheim gives the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra’s recording of Lowell Liebermann: Frankenstein a four-star review and recommendation:
“This recording was made live in 2018 and marked the U.S. premiere in San Francisco, featuring the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra under conductor Martin West, and it is to be recommended for the live atmosphere alone. A good deal of enthusiastic applause is retained, and the audiophile engineering staff at Reference Recordings proves itself as able in live recording as it is in the studio; the sound has a wonderful immediacy rare in theatrical recordings. Liebermann’s score is immediately appealing. … Liebermann’s music is cinematic, indeed evoking the great tradition of 1930s Hollywood horror film scores, but as the music approaches its considerable climaxes in Act III, his harmonic palette darkens, as if to emphasize the modern resonances of the Frankenstein story. Conductor West is alert to both the Hollywood evocations, giving the strings a heated, melodramatic tone and the shift in style as the music proceeds. Listeners may wish to get in on the ground floor here, for this ballet is showing signs of becoming a repertory item.”
—James Manheim, AllMusic
See the full review on AllMusic.com