Bulgarian/ German, Berlin-based composer, singer, pianist, arranger and vintage synth devotee Lisa Morgenstern first came to public attention in 2019 with the self-released Chameleon, “a striking, singular mix,” Britain’s Uncut magazine enthused,“of the ethereal and the earthly.” She’s since played headline shows across Europe and opened for the likes of Ólafur Arnalds, Joep Beving and Max Cooper, as well as appearing at festivals – including Iceland’s Airwaves, America’s South by South West and Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival – and in prestigious venues, among them Berlin’s Philharmonie and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.
In 2022, Morgenstern was hired to co-compose the score for The Empress (Die Kaiserin), which went on to become Netflix’s then most-watched non-English language series and later earned an Int. Emmy for Best Drama Series. She has just completed work on its second season, for which she is also vocalist, pianist, and arranger, and again led the recording sessions with the Reykjavik Orchestra in Iceland’s celebrated Harpa Hall. In addition, she composed her first solo film score for 2024’s Von Uns Wird Es Keiner Sein, produced by Warner Brothers itvp / Chromosom Film for Germany’s Zdf/Arte, Lisa is currently working with the same director, Simon Ostermann, on his next project, to be announced shortly.
During her career, Morgenstern has collaborated with other acclaimed artists including Casper, Balmorhea, Aukai and Ben Lukas Boysen, as well as with the Munich Radio Orchestra (for a nationally televised live performance at the 2019 Puls Festival) and the renowned Bulgarian Voices Berlin choir. The latter were recently awarded first place in the World Choral Cup’s 2024 Chamber Choir category for a performance in which she not only took part but which included pieces she had written and arranged. Both the choir and the Munich Radio Orchestra are featured prominently on Morgenstern’s upcoming album, for which she has written the complex arrangements.