Laura Kargul, piano
Laura
Kargul
has been concertizing as a solo pianist since the age of thirteen, when
she made her concerto debut with orchestra in Detroit. She first came
to international attention in 1985 when her European debut in the
Netherlands was hailed by the Rotterdams Nieuwsblad as
“one
of the most remarkable debut recitals recently given in our
country”. The following year Ms. Kargul played at
Amsterdam's Concertgebouw and earned immediate recognition as a
“world class pianist”: “This is
playing that
belongs on our great concert stages . . . . almost feverishly inspired,
so controlled and so thrilling.” (Haagsche Courant, The
Hague) Subsequent tours have included solo performances in
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, and Switzerland, as well as
in the West Indies. As a guest of numerous international music
festivals, Ms. Kargul has appeared at the Schleswig-Holstein,
Nordhessen, and Eisenacher Summer Music Festivals in Germany, the Evian
Music Festival in France, the Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca
in Italy, the Lesvos Arts Festival in Greece, the Aspen Music Festival
in Colorado, and Music Mountain in Connecticut. She has recorded for
radio in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Jamaica, as well as for
PBS radio and national television in the United States. As a
collaborative artist she has performed with groups such as the Lark
Quartet, the Da Ponte String Quartet, and the Michigan Chamber Strings.
Although
her repertoire spans from Scarlatti to Rochberg, Laura Kargul is
especially known as a Liszt interpreter, and she is one of few pianists
ever invited to give a full recital on Liszt's own Bechstein piano at
the Liszthaus in Weimar, Germany. Her performances of Liszt
consistently draw high praise: “Liszt wanted
everything
from the piano - wildness and fervor, exuberance and
humility.
Laura Kargul delivers all of it. She is completely absorbed
by
the music - elegantly floating through the most treacherous
passages. It's like childsplay to her ...equipped with
sparkling
brilliance, clean double octaves, and perfectly executed
leaps.” (Hessische Allgemeine, Kassel,
Germany) At
the same time, she is considered to be extremely versatile and critics
find her playing of many other composers to be equally
compelling: “How convincingly poetic, deeply
lyrical and
profound, will her playing of Schubert be judged.”
(Wiesbadener
Kurier, Wiesbaden, Germany). Another often mentioned
attribute is
her focused, understated virtuosity: “Unassuming,
without
exaggerated gestures, Laura Kargul enters the stage and astounds her
audience. . . .with great wealth of expression . . . . visible and
audible perfection in technique.” (Thüringische
Landeszeitung, Eisenach, Germany)
Originally
from Michigan, Ms. Kargul's early piano studies began at the age of six
with Rebecca Frohman in Detroit. As a teenager she attended the
National Music Camp at Interlochen, where she studied with Nelita True
and won a full scholarship to the University of Michigan. Her principal
teachers in piano were Leon Fleisher and Theodore Lettvin, and she also
worked closely with former Tanglewood director of conducting Gustav
Meier. Ms. Kargul holds a doctorate in piano performance from the
University of Michigan and is now the Director of Keyboard Studies at
the University of Southern Maine, where she has been a member of the
faculty since 1989. Dedicated to teaching, she is also the founder and
director of a summer camp for young pianists, the Southern Maine Piano
Institute.
Contact:
Laura Kargul
University of Southern Maine School
of Music
37 College Avenue
Gorham, ME 04038
207-780-5265
Kargul@usm.maine.edu