Raymond J. Lustig

Lustig's work transcends many genres, as composer, performer, producer, and bandleader. From symphonic works to experimental opera, instrumental music, to alternative rock and electronic music, his music maintains an artistic and sonic signature across strikingly different forces, an emotional intensity not about loudness but often quiet and constant. While his early career was set in the world of Juilliard and Carnegie Hall, he has expanded steadily “downtown” and around the world, working with international musicians ranging from underground rockers to modular synthesists, jazzers, traditional folk musicians, and classical virtuosi. His choral opera Semmelweis was staged in a 2018 production by Hungarian director Martin Boross. In 2026 Lustig and co-producer Maximilien Hein reimagined the music of the opera as a concept album taking the form of a song cycle. In 2020, with New York-based Italian artist Luigi Porto, he started the band Manicburg, which released its debut album in 2024, a live EP, many single videos, and continues to tour and record. His latest solo album, WELCOME, due out in the autumn of 2026, takes his solo music again in the direction of alternative rock, with a lush electronic and compositional palette, exploring different angles of anxiety and fear in a dangerous world. Lustig is part of a growing scene of artists and musicians based in the far-northern neighborhoods of Manhattan, and hosts monthly music parties in his studio there.