Michael Kugel
Encyclopedia
Michael Kugel is a Russia
n viola
player and composer
.
.
In 1975 he won First Prize (joint with Zoltan Toth) at the International Viola Competition in Budapest.
During years 1975-1990 Michael Kugel was the soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Organisation, violist of the Beethoven Quartet
and professor at the Moscow Conservatory
. From 1990 till 1996 Michael Kugel was a professor at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance.
In 1996 he settled in Belgium and now he is a professor at the Ghent Conservatory (Belgium
) and at the Conservatorium Maastricht
in the Netherlands
.
Michael Kugel appeared as a soloist with many major symphony orchestras in the world and also appeared as a conductor with many orchestras.
He has taken part in Festivals in Schleswig-Holstein, Lockenhause, Lille, Rolandseck, Passau, Jerusalem, Rizor, Orebro, Krems, Divonn, Menton, Mürzzuschlag, Venezia, Festival van Vlaanderen, Dubrovnik, Cincinnati, etc.
Michael Kugel was a member of jury for International competitions in England, Austria, Israel, USA, Croatia, Belgium, Germany and CIS:
Michael Kugel has given masterclass in Germany, England, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Mexico, Israel, France, Belgium, Croatia, CIS, Holland, Canada etc.
Michael Kugel has enriched the viola repertoire with many transcriptions and with his own compositions : Sonata-Poem for viola solo, Concerto for viola and orchestra, Suite in memoriam Shostakovich for viola and piano, sonatas etc. His compositions also include a piano sonata, chamber symphony and chamber music among others.
He has recorded about 20 discs and also made numerous records as a viola d'amore
player as well.
He is the author of two books :
Michael Kugel is the founder and the President of the Belgian Viola Society.
His recent recordings include:
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
player and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Biography
Born in Kharkov, USSR, he studied at the Beethoven School of Music, at the Music College in Kharkov and later at the Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) ConservatorySaint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.-History:...
.
In 1975 he won First Prize (joint with Zoltan Toth) at the International Viola Competition in Budapest.
During years 1975-1990 Michael Kugel was the soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Organisation, violist of the Beethoven Quartet
Beethoven Quartet
The Beethoven Quartet was founded between 1922 and 1923 by graduates of the Moscow Conservatory: violinists Dmitri Tsyganov and Vasily Shirinsky, violist Vadim Borisovsky and cellist Sergei Shirinsky...
and professor at the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
. From 1990 till 1996 Michael Kugel was a professor at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance.
In 1996 he settled in Belgium and now he is a professor at the Ghent Conservatory (Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) and at the Conservatorium Maastricht
Conservatorium Maastricht
The Maastricht Academy of Music, Dutch: Conservatorium Maastricht, located in the city of Maastricht, is one of nine music academies in the Netherlands...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Michael Kugel appeared as a soloist with many major symphony orchestras in the world and also appeared as a conductor with many orchestras.
He has taken part in Festivals in Schleswig-Holstein, Lockenhause, Lille, Rolandseck, Passau, Jerusalem, Rizor, Orebro, Krems, Divonn, Menton, Mürzzuschlag, Venezia, Festival van Vlaanderen, Dubrovnik, Cincinnati, etc.
Michael Kugel was a member of jury for International competitions in England, Austria, Israel, USA, Croatia, Belgium, Germany and CIS:
- V Lionel Tertis International Viola CompetitionLionel Tertis International Viola CompetitionThe Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition is an international music competition for viola players established in 1980 to honor the memory of the English viola virtuoso Lionel Tertis. This triennial event is held at the Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin, Isle of Man...
, Workshop and World Viola Congress, 1994 - First International Viola Competition in Vienna,1998
- Primrose Memorial Viola CompetitionPrimrose International Viola CompetitionThe Primrose International Viola Competition , also referred to as the Primrose Memorial Scholarship Competition , is an international music competition for viola players sponsored by the American Viola Society and named for the 20th century virtuoso William Primrose.The 13th Primrose International...
, 1999 - IX Lionel Tertis International Viola competition and Workshop, 2006
- etc.
Michael Kugel has given masterclass in Germany, England, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Mexico, Israel, France, Belgium, Croatia, CIS, Holland, Canada etc.
Michael Kugel has enriched the viola repertoire with many transcriptions and with his own compositions : Sonata-Poem for viola solo, Concerto for viola and orchestra, Suite in memoriam Shostakovich for viola and piano, sonatas etc. His compositions also include a piano sonata, chamber symphony and chamber music among others.
He has recorded about 20 discs and also made numerous records as a viola d'amore
Viola d'amore
The viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.- Structure and sound :...
player as well.
He is the author of two books :
- Viola sonata by Shostakovich and The viola Concerto by Bartók - The history of an era and the Masterpieces of the instrumental music.
- Masterpieces of the Instrumental Music
Michael Kugel is the founder and the President of the Belgian Viola Society.
Selected compositions
Michael Kugel's compositions are published by Alain Van Kerckhoven Éditeur.- Il Carnevale di Venezia for Viola and Piano (2001)
- Classical Preludes for Viola and Piano (1999)
- Sonata-Poem for Viola Solo (1987)
- Suite in Memoriam Shostakovich for Viola and Piano (1988)
Discography
He has recorded about 20 discs and also made numerous records as a viola d'amore player as well. He made them in the former Soviet Union but unfortunately most of those records are unavailable.His recent recordings include:
- In Memoriam Shostakivich. Michael Kugel (viola), Vesna Podrug (piano), 1998, ISBN 3-221-15253-3
- The recorded viola. Volume IV. Pearl GEMS 0039, PhonCD R2448 reva v.4, 1998
- Mark Kopytman, Beyond all this... The Israel Camerata, Avner Biron (conductor), Michael Kugel (viola), 1999, IMI-CD-1929-03
- Glinka, Paganini, Bizet Waxman. Michael Kugel (viola) Asir Rozenberg (piano), 1999
Audio recordings
- Michael Kugel plays Carmen Fantasie (Georges BizetGeorges BizetGeorges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
— Franz WaxmanFranz WaxmanFranz Waxman was a German-American composer, known for his bravura Carmen Fantasie for violin and orchestra, based on musical themes from the Bizet opera Carmen, and for his musical scores for films....
, violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
arrangement by Michael Kugel)