Paul Lustig Dunkel Presents 'On the Edge' in Soundscapes Concert Series Tonight

Paul Lustig Dunkel presents his Soundscapes, a concert series featuring some of New York's finest classical and jazz musicians, in a concert tonight, February 11 at 8pm. This concert features Igor Stravinsky's 1918 L'Histoire du Soldat, song highlights from past productions, excerpts from Kurt Weill's gritty Three Penny Opera, and a short work by composer Sebastian Chang.

The event is a benefit for The Talking Band, one of New York's eminent cutting-edge theatrical companies, directed by Paul Zimet. Soundscapes will play at Christ and St. Stephens Church 120 West 69th Street.

Tickets: Benefit tickets $50, Regular admission $30, and $10 for students. Call 914.629.4962 for reservations.

The program will feature Stravinsky's 1918 L'Histoire du Soldat, a masterpiece of 20th century music in which Stravinsky brilliantly made a virtue out of the shortage of means. Forced by the aftermath of World War I to make a travelling, small-scale work, Stravinsky used a seven-piece chamber ensemble and three actors to create an extraordinary work that marked the beginning of modern musical theatre. Three members of Talking Band will act as narrators.

Also featured are seven song highlights from past Talking Band productions, including Betty Bends the Blues, New Cities, Bitterroot, Belize, New Islands Archipelago, and The Peripherals.

The performance will open with four movements from Kurt Weill's Three Penny Opera, including Mack the Knife. There will also be a 6-minute work by composer Sebastian Chang, a rising young pianist/composer. Born in California in 1988, Chang has already received three BMI Student Composer Awards, five ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Awards, and compositional awards from Young Composers Awards, NY Art Ensemble Young Composer Award, and others. His music has been played by the Philadelphia Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Curtis Symphony, and more, and Sebastian has also performed as guest pianist with most of the above. He is currently composing the music for an upcoming film.