Morgenstern's Reflections Series NACHT UND TRAUME to Feature Tony Winner Maryann Plunkett, 11/19

Violinist and artistic director Gil Morgenstern's acclaimed Reflections Series continues the 2012-2013 season on Monday, November 19 at 7:30pm with Nacht und Traüme, "Night and Dreams." Celebrating five years of innovative programming in its intimate home at WMP Concert Hall (31 East 28th Street, NYC), Morgenstern will be joined by Tony Award Winner Maryann Plunkett and pianist Donald Berman. 

A nocturnal journey from dusk to dawn, Nacht und Traüme creates a narrative of fantasy and nightmare through the music of Schubert (Nacht und Träume and Fantasie); Enesco (Impressions of Childhood); John Cage (Dream); and Sibelius (Nocturne). Prose and poetry of Sylvia Plath (from The Unabridged Journals, Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams, and The Wishing Box) will be read by Maryann Plunkett who won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress for her performance as "Sally Smith" in Me and My Girl.

By placing musical works in their respective artistic, historic and social context, Morgenstern invites audiences to travel with him behind the scenes into the composers' creative processes. Using both existing and original works, and with the collaboration of a superb ensemble of creative and performing artists representing all art forms, Reflections Series programs present works that both reflect upon one another and invite the audience to reflect anew on universal themes. The 2012-2013 Reflections Series will also be presented in Miami, Philadelphia, Boston and at An Appalachian Summer Festival in Boone, North Carolina; and in various cities throughout Italy, France, and England.

A sneak peek at upcoming Reflections Series Concerts:

The Voice of the Violin, Part 2 | Tues., February 26 & Wed., February 27, 2013 at 7:30pm
The Voice of the Violin, Part 2 expands on the theme of Gil Morgenstern's opening concert at WMP in 2010. Mr. Morgenstern has crafted a second program showcasing the singularly expressive range of the violin and the contrasting manner in which composers have exploited it. He will perform selections highlighting the instrument's unique and versatile voice in music by Beethoven, Berio, Webern, Bach, Schumann, Ysaÿe, and Ravel. With Benjamin Hochman, piano.

Reflections on Things Past: The First Five Years | Tues., May 7 & Wed., May 8, 2013 at 7:30pm
An evening of Reflections Series' highlights, celebrating five years of innovative and original programming. With Jonathan Feldman, piano. Program TBA.

About Gil Morgenstern: Acclaimed for his artistry and technical brilliance, violinist Gil Morgenstern is devoted to exploring and expanding the possibilities for inventive classical music programming. His vision is to present the audience with a more complete concert experience, meticulously curated from start to finish, by organically integrating music with other artistic disciplines in innovative and unexpected ways.

A violinist with a long history of performing in the world's great concert halls, Mr. Morgenstern's career has taken him to international venues including Wigmore Hall, London; Cultural Center Concert Hall, Hong Kong; the American Academy, Rome; Salone dei Cinquecento, Florence; El Teatro Sucre, Quito; Arts Centre and State Theatre, Melbourne, Australia. He has also toured the U.S. extensively, performing in recital and as guest soloist with many leading orchestras including the symphonies of St. Louis, Baltimore, Louisville, Indianapolis, Denver, Milwaukee, New Jersey and North Carolina.

Mr. Morgenstern has also shared the stage with such eminent musicians as Philippe Entremont, Lynn Harrell, André-Michel Schub, Jeffrey Kahane, Sharon Isbin, and Heinz Holliger, and has collaborated with United States Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa, and performance artist Laurie Anderson.

Mr. Morgenstern's discography includes works by Beethoven, Fauré, Copland, Ravel, Kodaly, Sessions and the award-winning American composer George Tsontakis. His latest recording, 20th Century Duos for Violin and Cello, was the No. 1 classical CD for over a month on eMusic, the largest online store for independent music in the world, and was one of the top ten best selling classical music albums on Amazon.com. Of the CD The New York Times raved, "the music is terrific and the performances compelling on this surprisingly exciting and excellently engineered recording." Mr. Morgenstern records for the MMC, Engine Company and Koch International Classics labels, and can regularly be heard on National Public Radio and classical music radio stations across the country.

Highlights of Mr. Morgenstern's recent seasons include interdisciplinary performances with the Julliard Dance Company at Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Ballet; the premieres of staged versions of The Epic of Gilgamesh, Venus and Adonis with Claire Bloom and John Neville, and Samuel Beckett at 100 at New York City's 92nd Street Y and at Harvard University. Mr. Morgenstern's performance in the Nine Circles Chamber Theatre production of When Samson Met Delilah toured Holland to rave reviews and his recent appearance in Toronto was broadcast throughout Canada on CBC. He also appeared as violin soloist in U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky's translation of Dante's Inferno, which toured the country and was broadcast on PBS and NPR, for which it received a Peabody nomination. Mr. Morgenstern continues to tour the United States and Europe, and his highly acclaimed Reflections Series will be presented in new venues in London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice in the 2012–2013 season. Mr. Morgenstern lives in New York City. For more information, visit www.gilmorgenstern.com.

About Donald Berman: Pianist Donald Berman is recognized as a chief exponent of new works by living composers, overlooked music by 20th century masters, and recitals that link classical and modern repertoires. His 2-volume The Unknown Ives and The Uncovered Ruggles represents the only recordings of the complete short piano works of Charles Ives and Carl Ruggles extant. His recordings also include the 4-CD set Americans in Rome: Music by Fellows of the American Academy in Rome, The Light That Is Felt: Songs of Charles Ives (with Susan Narucki, soprano), and Wasting the Night: Songs of Scott Wheeler.

Recent concerts include premieres of Christopher Theofanidis's Piano Concerto with orchestras of Belgrade; Columbus, OH; and Hartford, CT; and an electro-acoustic program When Brahma Sleeps presented by (le) Poisson Rouge (NYC). He is the recipient of the 2010 Classical Recording Foundation's Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artist Award and the Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard University.'

Berman teaches at Tufts University and is Treasurer of the Charles Ives Society. A prizewinner of the 1991 Schubert International Competition, Berman studied with Leonard Shure, John Kirkpatrick, George Barth, and Mildred Victor.

About Maryann Plunkett: American actress Maryann Plunkett won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as "Sally Smith" in Me and My Girl. Additional Broadway credits include Bernadette Peters' replacement in Sunday in the Park with George and the 1991 revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, in which she played Elizabeth Proctor opposite Martin Sheen as John Proctor, in an all-start cast including Michael York and Fritz Weaver. Plunkett has appeared in film in Breaking the Silence and on television in as guest star on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Law & Order.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.