Michael Kugel (; born December 5, 1946) is a Ukrainian

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

player and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Biography

Born in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, USSR, he studied at the Beethoven School of Music, at the Music College in Kharkiv and later at the Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) Conservatory. In 1975 he won First Prize (joint with Zoltan Toth) at the International Viola Competition in Budapest."Playing the Soviet carrier", Tully Potter, The Strad, June 1995 During years 1975-1990 Michael Kugel was the soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Organisation, violist of the

Beethoven Quartet The Beethoven Quartet (, ''Strunnyĭ kvartet imeni Betkhovena'') was a string quartet founded between 1922 and 1923 by graduates of the Moscow Conservatory: violinists Dmitri Tsyganov and Vasily Shirinsky, violist Vadim Borisovsky and cellist S ...

and professor at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

. From 1990 till 1996 Michael Kugel was a professor at the

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Rubin Academy of Music and Dance. In 1996 he settled in Belgium and now he is a professor at the

Ghent Conservatory The Royal Conservatory of Ghent () is a historic conservatory and a royally chartered musical institution in Ghent, Belgium. It is now a part of the University College Ghent. History The Royal Conservatory of Ghent is a royally chartered music ...

(

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) and at the

Conservatorium Maastricht The Maastricht Academy of Music, Dutch: ''Conservatorium Maastricht'', located in the city of Maastricht, is one of nine College or university school of music, music academies in the Netherlands. The academy is a faculty of the Zuyd University, Zu ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. 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 Competition The 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. Up to 2019 this triennial event was held at the Erin Art ...

, Workshop and World Viola Congress, 1994 *First International Viola Competition in Vienna, 1998 * Primrose Memorial Viola Competition, 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 The viola d'amore (; ) is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with additional sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viola d'amore shar ...

player as well. He is the author of three books :
The history of an era. An interpretation of two works for viola Viola
*Masterpieces of the Instrumental Music
Musical Essay
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 Editeur. * ''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) Michael Kugel'
works
are published by Nototeka (publisher Dmitry Yuferov)
Musical Essay
(2014)
Ostinato. sonata for pianoforte
(2015)
Nostalgia. Divertiento for viola and piano
(2015)

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 Shostakovich''. Michael Kugel (viola), Vesna Podrug (piano), 1998, *''The recorded viola. Volume IV''. Pearl GEMS 0039, PhonCD R2448 reva v.4, 1998 *''

Mark Kopytman Mark Kopytman (; December 6, 1929 – December 16, 2011) was a composer, musicologist and pedagogue. He was a professor and a rector of the Rubin Academy (Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance), and a Laureate of the Serge Koussevitzky Prize for his ...

, 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 "The greatest Russian violists" (MELODIA)-2009. "Michael Kugel - Boris Berezovsky" (MELODIA - 2014)

Audio recordings

Michael Kugel plays
Carmen Fantasie (

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

—

Franz Waxman Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann; December 24, 1906February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre. His film scores include ''Bride of Frankenstein'', ''Rebecca (194 ...

arrangement by Michael Kugel)

Video

Some videos can be found here

Bibliography

*Michael Kugel, History of an

era An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

. An interpretation of two works for viola, 2002, *Masterpieces of the Instrumental Music, unpublished
Musical Essay
2014, ISMN 979-0-9007107-0-3

References

Budapest Philharmonic, Hall of fameNew Consonant Music, ComposersA & E Vienna Limited, Michael Kugel bio

Notes

External links

Official web-site of Michael Kugel

Michael Kugel at New Consonant Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kugel, Michael 1946 births Living people Russian classical violists Russian classical viola d'amore players Russian male composers Academic staff of the Maastricht Academy of Music Musicians from Kharkiv Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory