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Carolyn Enger, pianist
Internationally celebrated American pianist Carolyn Enger has gained critical acclaim for her exquisite lyrical playing, as well as her deeply felt interpretations. In addition to an active performance schedule on two continents, Ms. Enger has enjoyed remarkable success as a recording artist: The New York Times selected her Naxos recording of intimate Ned Rorem miniatures, Piano Album I & Six Friends, as one of the newspaper’s
“Best In Classical Recordings”, writing “Among the 90th–birthday tributes this year to the essential American composer Ned Rorem, this recording especially stands out,” while Gramophone declared, “Enger raises the miniatures to a higher level.”
Ms. Enger’s touring opportunities have included venues throughout the United States and beyond, including the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, United States Military Academy West Point, the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, The National Gallery of Art in D.C., the National Gallery in Oslo, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. Deepening her commitment to multimedia collaborations, Ms. Enger was part of renowned illustrator and writer Maira Kalman’s exhibit Maira Kalman Selects at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, and her recording of Arvo Pärt’s music was featured in conceptual artist Mischa Kuball’s sound and light exhibit res.o.nant at the Jewish Museum Berlin.
Recent highlights include the publication of her article, The Mischlinge Exposé: Stories of Assimilation and Conversion, in the book Women Defying Hitler: Rescue and Resistance under the Nazis, published by Bloomsbury Academic; concerts at Baruch College, Kean University, Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, Boston Public Library, the National
Gallery in Oslo, the White Stork Synagogue in Wrocław, Poland; the Bach–Festival in Arnstadt, Germany; the Portuguese Synagogue’s Candlelight Concert series in Amsterdam; concerts in Erfurt, Potsdam, and Gotha, Germany; and recitals in the greater New York area.
Ms. Enger is dedicated to bringing music to diverse audiences in accessible civic spaces. One of her performances at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center is featured in Frederick Wiseman’s acclaimed documentary Ex Libris, which premiered on PBS. This past winter Carolyn enjoyed her residency, showcasing her immersive film/sound project Resonating Earth, with Musica Sierra and the public school children in the Sierra Valley. One presenter shared that her performance left audiences “in complete awe of her passion, skill and genuine warmth.”
Ms. Enger studied at the Manhattan School of Music and is a Steinway Artist.
From the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to coal burning plants in the Ruhr Valley of Germany, from the glorious heights of mountain ranges in Alaska to mountains of potassium waste in Eastern Germany, Resonating Earth was created in response to the climate crisis. With a wide range of ambient music, including Bach, Nico Muhly, Pia Møller Johansen, Missy Mazzoli, Philip Glass, Marcos Balter, Iman Habibi and Caroline Shaw; alongside stunning imagery of the environment by Peabody Award-winning producer Elliott Forrest(WQXR), visual artist Myles Aronowitz, and internationally-exhibited environmental activist and photographer J Henry Fair, Resonating Earth creates a soundscape focusing on the beauty in our environment and inspires environmental activism in an artistic, musically immersive way.
Resonating Earth seeks to transport listeners to a still, meditative space, allowing them to decompress from their daily lives, and invites introspection about humanity’s place on the planet, inspiring action to protect our beautiful, fragile world.
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The Mischlinge Exposé weaves a multimedia tapestry around a little-known aspect of the Holocaust: the Mischlinge (a derogatory Nazi term for those neither fully Jewish nor fully Aryan). Interweaving video and audio testimony from Carolyn’s godmother and her father (both labeled Mischling, Grade A by the Nazis), with the music of composers from the salon period who converted to Christianity in the decades before the war, and works reacting to questions of identity after the war, the program vividly illustrates what it was like to be between worlds in Germany in the first half of the 20th century. Through the telling of her family story, Ms. Enger’s live documentary The Mischlinge Exposé directly addresses universally significant issues of identity and inclusion, encouraging empathy, tolerance, and engagement.
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The Musical Legacies program uses the varied fabric of composers’ voices to explore and celebrate the numerous marginalized communities who have had an impact on the overall fabric of American musical history. Featured pieces ranging over centuries of creativity, struggle, and triumph tell the stories of African American artists and other communities whose songs rang out despite America’s long history with systemic racism, sexism and prejudice, and their influences on composers of today. Ms. Enger is excited to share the musical lineage of her dear Ned Rorem and his roots that travel this musical path, beginning with George Whitefield Chadwick, William Grant Still, Ulysses Kay, Florence B. Price, Margaret Bonds, Ned Rorem, and Daron Hagen.
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While they may have never met, Beethoven’s and Schubert’s music is tied together in Viennese musical history, so much so that they are buried next to each other. Both composers were masters of creating music that was expressive and lyrical, and composed some of their most important works for the piano. In Masters of Transcendence, Carolyn Enger pairs two penultimate works from each composer, Schubert’s B-Flat Piano Sonata, D. 960 and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 31, Op. 110, creating a performance that features the composers at the heights and depths of their extraordinary musical utterances.
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Celebrating Women Composers : Music HerStory exalts contributions that women have made to the world of classical music, with compositions by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Clara Schumann, Ethel Smyth, Florence Price, Meredith Monk, JJ Hollingsworth, Missy Mazzoli, Caroline Shaw and Pia Møller Johansen. Pianist Carolyn Enger feels dedicated to feature under-represented female composers, hoping to inspire audiences to appreciate the importance of familiarizing themselves with diverse creators, underscoring the universality of music.
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Lyricism Then & Now is a multifaceted journey, traversing into the depths of Beauty in songlike idioms, with works from the Classical period to the present day including compositions by some of the most prolific composers of songs, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Leonard Bernstein, Ned Rorem, Caroline Shaw and JJ Hollingsworth.
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American Ethos introduces the audience to composers of a variety of backgrounds reminding us of the unique spirit of America and the different cultures that make up our nation. Ms. Enger’s program shines a light on diverse voices, who are often overlooked, and are American composers of our time. Selections from artists such as Aaron Copland, Ned Rorem, Leonard Bernstein, Caroline Shaw, Philip Glass, Marcos Balter, Nico Muhly, Missy Mazzoli, Meredith Monk, JJ Hollingsworth and Brent Michael Davids celebrating Native American roots.
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Leipzig had long been a major center for music, spawning a fair amount of the world’s best music from 1720-1860. It has been a trade city since the time of the Holy Roman Empire, hosting the oldest surviving trade fair in the world. Sitting at the intersection of two important medieval trade routes, it has been a major center for publishing and home to one of the oldest universities in Europe, dating from 1409. The town’s enviable economic status stimulated a notable cultural life based particularly on the early development of the printing industry but also including the musical efflorescence associated with Johann Sebastian Bach.
Ms. Enger has created a program to capture the essence of this vital city and the varied musical personalities that passed through and left their mark, J S Bach, Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, who established Germany’s first music conservatoire in Leipzig, Clara and Robert Schumann, Georg Nepomuk Hummel, Hanns Eisler, Walter Braunfels, Edvard Grieg, Ethel Smyth, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt and Gustav Mahler.
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“Impeccable sense of timing…Clear tone and graceful naivety…Enger can be commended for her taste in music…There is much novelty to delight in….” –American Record Guide
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“This year the classical music critics of The New York Times had plenty of options when selecting their favorite recordings of 2013….“Among the 90th Birthday tributes this year to the essential American composer Ned Rorem, this recording especially stands out.“–The New York Times
“It so effectively conjures a place, in fact, two or three different places: what the artist was considering (both the composer, the late Ned Rorem, and the amazing and patient pianist, the very alive Carolyn Enger); where the listener is, as their ear’s soul exists in a miraculously aware place of peace and anticipation; and the great, cold golden glow of the studio, as Enger sat, in Buddha stillness, on the bench, considering the horror and joy of time and the pregnant fullness of emptiness.“-Tim Sommer, Rock and Roll Globe
“Carolyn Enger is an artist with a deep talent for music magnified by her compassion for humanity, our common world. A descendant of Jews married to Gentiles, she creates music from her personal search to know who she is in the fractured civilization Hitler left behind with his effort to eradicate the Jewish people. From the ’no man’s land’ of a Mischlinge’s inheritance, she makes art.“-Nathan Stoltzfus, Dorothy and Jonathan Rintels Professor of Holocaust Studies at Florida State University and co-founder of the Rosenstrasse Foundation.
“Thank you again for sharing your compelling work with us—it was an honor to host you. You brought together music, autobiography and memory in such unique ways. The mix of different forms rendered powerful truths about history. I was deeply moved. Your performance was much needed for many of us.” – Dr. Carina Pasquesi, Managing Director of the Wasserman Jewish Studies Dept, Baruch College
“Ms. Enger performed this piece at the Museum of Jewish Heritage– A Living Memorial to the Holocaust on January 19, 2021 and it was well received. The performance was followed by a discussion moderated by Rachel Stern of the Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized and Banned Art. Here at the Museum, we share stories of Jewish life and experiences before, during, and after the Holocaust; Ms. Enger’s performance fit very well within our mission.” – Jack Kliger, President and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage
“Ms. Enger’s musical and narrative performance of the Mischlinge Exposé, a multi-layered piano, photographic and story presentation, focused on her personal family history and experiences. Her message shared the emotional and individual level experiences felt by those present during the events of the Holocaust. Ms. Enger was a joy to host here at West Point and the presentation was a phenomenal way to remember the events of the past through her amazing music and storytelling.” –Andrew M. Baumgartner MSG, USA, West Point
“[Carolyn Enger’s] acceptance of both Judaism and her family history has propelled her to delve into the history of the Mischlinge. The fusion of historical facts, culture, music, film and her narrative that she delivers flawlessly makes one of the lesser-known areas of the Holocaust fascinatingly vibrant. When she presented it…the audience was mesmerized.” –Barbara Wind, former director of the Holocaust Center of Greater MetroWest, NJ.
“Carolyn Enger’s expressive and contemplative performance of Resonating Earth evokes nature’s timeless transcendence and sublimity. It coalesces art and nature as the ultimate equalizers, removing the positions of listener, artist, and musician and unifying us all as human.” –Bonnie Blair Lacy, Education Coordinator, Nevada Museum of Art
“This program was a tremendously enjoyable one to collaborate with and to share with the museum’s audience. Thank you!”–Colin Robertson, Senior Vice President Education and Research, Nevada Museum of Art
“We want to sincerely thank the wonderful pianist Carolyn Enger for being part of our event PlantACT! Plants for Climate Action – Growing a Resilient Society. Her mixed-media project Resonating Earth, which combines an artistic presentation of environment and nature with Ms. Enger’s musical talent, was a perfect addition and truly inspired us to take climate action! The pieces were played outstandingly by Ms. Enger and our audience was captivated.” –Dr. Eva Bosbach, Executive Director University of Cologne, New York Office
“What an absolutely gorgeous sound and control! I love this, and I love that you made it yours. The music breathes so naturally and beautifully, and the whole performance feels like one big endless line in the horizon, which I love.” –Iman Habibi, composer
“It sounds absolutely gorgeous! Brava! I’m so deeply honored to receive such a sensitive and emotional performance.” –Marcos Balter, composer
“Gorgeous!” –Missy Mazzoli, Composer
“Beautiful! Wonderful voicing.” –Nico Muhly, Composer
“Among the 90th Birthday tributes this year to the essential American composer Ned Rorem, this recording especially stands out. The fine pianist Carolyn Enger plays Mr. Rorem’s complete Piano Album l, a collection of tender yet pungent miniatures written for friends, intimates and personal occasions from 1978-2001.” –Anthony Tommasini, Former Chief Music Critic of The New York Times
“Enger raises the miniatures to a higher level by taking the time to recapture the emotional impact each must have had when their dedicatees read the inscription and title, then heard the music for the first time.” –Gramophone review of Piano Album I
“Listen: There’s an album I love called Ned Rorem’s Piano Album I. It’s an extraordinary, emotional recording, the sound of the reflective and open heart expressed in wood and wire. At the end of each of the album’s tracks, there’s 20 or 25 seconds of silence. This is amazing. It so effectively conjures a place, in fact, two or three different places: what the artist was considering (both the composer, the late Ned Rorem, and the amazing and patient pianist, the very alive Carolyn Enger); where the listener is, as their ear’s soul exists in a miraculously aware place of peace and anticipation; and the great, cold golden glow of the studio, as Enger sat, in Buddha stillness, on the bench, considering the horror and joy of time and the pregnant fullness of emptiness.”-Tim Sommer, Rock and Roll Globe
“Impeccable sense of timing…Clear tone and graceful naivety…Enger can be commended for her taste in music…There is much novelty to delight in… “ –American Record Guide review of “In Evening Air”
“Lavishing tone and sensitive, nuanced, thoughtful unhurried timeless playing.” –Robert Schulslaper, Fanfare Magazine Review of “In Evening Air”
“Some discs are just needed… expressively played set of piano miniatures… from the first note it creates an intimate evening mood… her playing is thoughtful and sensitive… expressive, yet without external pressure: the expressivity comes from the music itself; the pianist only opens the doors to let it out… She plays with fine nuance and tone-shading… World Premiere recording of the Rorem set and the presentation is faultless… Enger’s playing reminded me of Mitsuko Uchida… it applies that same level of concentrated attention to each single note and demonstrates admiration for each precious sound, unhurried, timeless… This disc has already magically transformed my evenings… Absolute pleasure.” –Oleg Ledienov, Music Web International review of “In Evening Air”
“She displays lovely control of these delicate sonorities, with careful attention to balance and registration. Her touch is gentle but penetrating, reaching down into the sound, and her rhythmic sense is spot on for this delicate music, as she is often behind the beat- a little lazy and droll, with rubato just right. This music doesn’t tell how virtuosic she is, as it rarely requires that kind of kinetic demonstration, but it does show that she has a huge heart and exquisite taste.” –Daniel Asia, The Huffington Post
“Thank you for the wonderful performance of my music.” –Ned Rorem, composer
“During my time as Chair of the Music Program at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL, I was fortunate to host pianist Carolyn Enger as a guest artist on our Music Fridays @ Noon series. She is an extraordinary artist. Her programs are interesting, satisfying and deeply rooted in knowledge of repertoire and style. She also taught master classes for our piano students, showing herself to be an adept analyst and compassionate guide for students at varying levels. All communications with Carolyn have been clear and professional. I readily recommend her as a guest artist and teacher, knowing that she will bring wonderful music and insights to her role.” –Lee Kesselman, Professor Emeritus of Music, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn
“What an outstanding & memorable concert! It was an excellent opportunity to see/hear you perform such complex and challenging pieces and encounter the stellar work of younger composers. Also it smoothly combined live performance with video art. I realize this is being done in larger venues, but for libraries it’s quite amazing.” –Carolyn Balducci-Adult Programs Coordinator, Montauk Library
“She is a musician of rare quality, whose pianistic sensitivity is at once in evidence.” –Avron Coleman, Cellist, NY Philharmonic
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