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 minatures, Piano Album I & Six Friends as one of the newspapaer'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 opportunites 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 Fritz Ascher Society, 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 New York City. 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, a return to 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 varied audiences in accessible civic spaces. One of her performances at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts 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 and sound project Resonating Earth, with Musica Sierra and the public school children of the Sierra Nevada. One community leader shared that Carolyn’s 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.
Mischlinge Exposé
Shining light on the stories of converts and Mischlinge before, during, and after World War II to soften the lines that divide us.
www.mischlingexpose.com
Carolyn's performance project, the Mischlinge Exposé, centers around her family history and the Mischling designation. The concert interweaves the music of prominent converts with testimony from Carolyn's godmother, Rosemarie Steinfeld, and her father, Horst Enger, who was considered by the Nazi regime a Mischling, Grade A. Performances of works by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander Zemlinsky, and Gustav Mahler illustrate the historical situations so aptly described through poetry by Rachel Varnhagen and Heinrich Heine. Through the lens of historical context and personal testimony, the performance traces a story of conversion from Judaism to Christianity and back and the continuing struggle for identity.