Michael Kugel

Michael Kugel was born in the USSR. He studied violin at the Beethoven School of Music and at the Musical College in Kharkov, later he studied viola with Juri Kramarov at the Leningrad (St.-Petersburg) Conservatory.

In 1975 he won First Prize at the International Viola Competition in Budapest, ahead of Juri Bashmet and Thomas Riebl. In the USSR he was the soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Organisation, violist of the Beethoven State Quartet and professor at the Moscow Tchaikovsky 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 Gent Royal Conservatory. Michael Kugel appeared as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moscow State Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the I Fiamminghi Orchestra (Belgium), the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Saint-Petersburg Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Camerata Orchestra, the Budapest Symphony Orchestra etc. He also appeared as a conductor with many chamber Orchestras.

Michael Kugel has taken part in Festivals in Lockenhause, Schlezwig-Holstein, Lille, Passau, Rolandseck, Jerusalem, Rizor, Orebro, Krems, Divonn Mürzzuschlag, Venezia, Festival van Vlaanderen etc.

He also has played solo concerts and has given masterclasses in the XXII International Viola Congress on the isle of man, in the XXVI International Viola Congress in Glasgow and the XXVII Viola Congress in Guelph (Canada).

He has appeared as a soloist and as a member of many chamber ensembles in a number of major concert halls including the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (Paris), the Carnegie Hall (New-York), the Wigmore Hall (London), the Victoria Hall (Geneve), the Musikverein Hall (Wien), the Big hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, the Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels), the Osaka Symphony Hall (Japan), the Tel-Aviv Philharmonic Hall etc.

Michel Kugel was a member of jury for competitions in Israel, England, Austria, CIS etc.

He has recorded discs featuring sonatas by Bach, Martini, Marcello, Glinka, Paganini, Shostakovich, Carmen-Fantasie by Bizet-Waxman, his own Suite in Memoriam Shostakovich and also made numerous records as a viola d'amore player as well.

Michael Kugel has enriched the viola repertoire with many transcriptions (Suite Italienne by Strawinsky, sonatas by Marcello, Porpora, Breval, Carmen-fantasie by Bizet-Waxmann, Last rose of summer by Ernst, La Molinara by Paganini, Variations on an original theme by Wieniawski, Il carnevale di Venezia by Paganini etc.) and with his own compositions (Sonata-Poem for viola solo, Concerto for viola and orchestra, Suite in memoriam Shostakovich for viola and piano, Preludi classici for viola and piano, Sonata for violin and viola etc.).

His compositions also include a piano sonata, chamber symphony and chamber music among others.

Michael Kugel has given masterclasses throughout Germany, England, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Mexico, Israel, France, CIS etc. He is the author of two the two books : Viola sonata by Shostakovich and The viola Concerto by Bartók - The history of an era and the Masterpieces of the instrumental music.