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ACCLAIMED INTERNATIONAL PIANIST CAROLYN ENGER PRESENTED THE MISCHLINGE EXPOSÉ CONCERT INTERWEAVES MUSIC AND TESTIMONY TO TRACE GERMAN-JEWISH FAMILY’S ASSIMILATION

(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)January 17, 2018

MAHWAH, N.J. – Carolyn Enger, an internationally-acclaimed concert pianist, presented her ambitious multimedia concert experience, The Mischlinge Project, hosted by the Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

The Mischlinge Exposé is a many-layered multimedia performance centering on Carolyn Enger’s family’s history and personal experience with Judaism. The program featured the music of German-Jewish-born composers Felix Mendelssohn, Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander Zemlinsky and Hanns Eisler. The works contextualized video and audio testimony of Ms. Enger’s father, Horace J. Enger, and her godmother, Rosemarie Steinfeld, who experienced Germany after the Nuremberg Laws were passed (both were labeled “Mischling, Grade A,” by the Nazis). Through the lens of historical context and the artistic and poetic testimony of prominent converts, the performance traced her family story of conversion from Judaism to Christianity and back to Judaism.

Carolyn Enger has gained critical acclaim for her lyrical and dynamic playing, her deeply felt interpretations of works from Beethoven and Schubert to contemporary music, and her warm personal approach. In addition to an active performance schedule, Enger has enjoyed remarkable success as a recording artist, particularly with her 2013 release of piano music by Ned Rorem on Naxos Records. Renowned critic Laurence Vittes wrote in his review for Gramophone (2/2014): “Enger raises the miniatures to a higher level by taking the time and care to capture the emotional impact each must have had when their dedicatees read their inscription and title, and then heard the music for the first time.”

An active recitalist with engagements throughout the United States and beyond, Enger has performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, The National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Design Museum, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Nantucket Musical Arts Society, The Kosciuszko Foundation, and the Tenri Cultural Institute.

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