Violinist Gil Morgenstern's 2012-2013 Reflections Series Continues, 2/26

Violinist and artistic director Gil Morgenstern's acclaimed Reflections Series continues the 2012-2013 season on Tuesday, February 26 and Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 7:30pm with The Voice of the Violin, Part 2. Celebrating five years of innovative programming in its intimate home at WMP Concert Hall (31 East 28th Street, NYC), Morgenstern will be joined by pianist Benjamin Hochman. 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 diverse manner in which composers have exploited it. The program includes: Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major; Webern's Four Pieces for violin and piano, Op. 7; selections from Bach's Partita in E Major for solo violin; Eugene Ysaÿe' Obsession: Prelude from Sonata No. 2 for solo violin; selections from Bartók's Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs; and Ravel's Tzigane.

The use of musical dialogue between violin and piano will be contrasted with performances of Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major and Webern's Four Pieces for violin and piano. Selections from one of Bach's singular contribution to solo instrumental composition, his Partita in E Major for solo violin, will be performed as originally written and with Robert Schumann's piano accompaniment added 130 years later, as well as a performance of Eugene Ysaÿe' Obsession, written 200 years later. The program will conclude with two very different uses of Eastern European folk music: selections from Bartók's Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs and Ravel's Tzigane.

A sneak peek at upcoming Reflections Series Concerts:
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. The New York Times describes Mr. Morgenstern as a, "brilliant and musically curious artist."

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. New York Times has hailed his playing as "a perfect demonstration of supreme ability;" "a rare poet of the violin" reported The South China Morning Post; "Morgenstern played a program that tested every part of a violinist's equipment and he did it all beautifully," wrote The Washington Post.

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.