Concert pianist, recording artist,master teacher, and now author JuraMargulis has been internationallyrecognized forhiscompellinglycommunicativeandemotionallychargedperformances,aswellas for therangeofhisexpressivetonalpaletteandhisconsummatetranscendentalvirtuosity.Reviewershavepraisedthe"absoluteauthority"ofhisinterpretationsandthesenseof"controlledobsession"hetransmitsatthekeyboard(FonoForum).TheFrankfurterAllgemeineZeitungnotedthathisaestheticisboth"impulsiveandcontemplative."TheLosAngelesTimespraisedhis"excellentpianism"andcalledhim"highlymusical".TheWashingtonPostapplaudedhis"titanicreservesofsheerpower"andhis"effortlessspontaneity."TheFortWorth Star-Telegram called his performance "… the perfect Beethoven for the audience of our time …sweeping lyricism… imagination, originality, and good taste pervaded every phrase." In August of 2011Drehpunkt Kultur in Salzburg stated: "After the performance one fleetingly thinks of the pianists thatbecamelegends,butcomparisonsareimpermissible.Margulisisamastersuigeneris(ofhisownkind)."
HisorchestralappearancesincludeperformanceswiththeRussianNationalOrchestraattheHollywoodBowl,theMontrealSymphonyOrchestra under Charles Dutoit, the Südwestrundfunk Orchestra, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra ofVenezuela, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Shenzhen Philharmonic Orchestra, and theOrchestra della Svizzera Italiana. He has played in numerous festivals, including the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, the BerlinerFestwochenatBerlinPhilharmonicHall,theVerbier,theLugano,andtheSommetsduClassiqueFestivals inSwitzerland,theArgerich-BeppuMusicFestivalinJapan,andtheSalzburgerFestspieleinAustria.InhisyoungeryearsMarguliswonprizesinmorethanadozeninternational competitions, includingBusoni in ItalyandGuardian in Ireland.He is alsoa recipientof theesteemedProEuropaprizeawardedbytheEuropeanFoundationforCulture.
Active as a chambermusician,Margulis is a foundingmember of theMargulis Family Trio and performedwith, among others,Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Lilya ZIlberstein, Alissa andNataliaMargulis, Alexander Buzlov, Arnold Bezuyen, the soloists of theMoscowVirtuosi, members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and theMoscow String Quartet. He has also concertized withMarthaArgerichon twopianos inGermany, Switzerland, Japan,and theUSA.Recent yearshavebroughthim toNewYork,Chicago, LosAngeles,St. Louis,Dallas,Cincinnati, Salt LakeCity, LittleRock,Tulsa,Carmel,Austin,Phoenix,San Jose,Minneapolis,Memphis,andNewOrleans,aswellas toFrankfurt,Düsseldorf,Hamburg,Elmau,Berlin,Bologna,Bruxelles,Bayreuth,Budapest,Bangkok,Barcelona, Beijing, Paris, Cape Town, Madrid, Yerevan, Warsaw, Aix-en-Provence, Almaty, Ankara, Lugano, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv,Tbilisi,Thessaloniki,Tokyo,Tallin,HongKong,Sapporo,Seoul,Shenzhen,Salzburg,Vienna,Moscow,andSt.Petersburg.
MargulishasrecordedtenCDsforSony,ArsMusici,andOehmsClassics,coveringawidespectrumofrepertoire.Theserecordingshaveattractedsignificantattention, includingselectionasa"referencerecording"byFonoForum,and inclusiononthe"Bestenliste"of theDeutschen Schallplattenkritik (GermanRecordingReview).His CD featuringpiano transcriptionsofmusic fromBach toCaplet (2007),received10outof10for"artisticquality"fromKlassikHeute.Theaccompanyingreviewstated:"notsinceHorowitz’soldRCArecordinghaveIencounteredaperformanceofSaint-Saens’DanseMacabrethatsogrippinglyleapsfromthestage,ashereinJuraMargulis’owntranscription."ThereviewalsonotedthatMargulis’owntranscriptionofalittle-knownpiecebyAndréCaplet"should,likeRavel’sowntranscriptionofhisLaValse,claimaplace intherepertoireofyoungpianists."Klassik.com,alsogivingtheCDitshighestrating,ravedthatMargulis"cannotbepraisedenough."Margulis’Bach,Beethoven,Brahms,BergsoloCDwasreleasedinfallof2009;AllMusicGuidewrites: "This CD is oneof thebest played, best interpreted, best programmed recitals of pianomusic of the year". In 2011Margulisreleased a CDwith the complete Liszt violin and piano duo repertoirewith his sister AlissaMargulis. In 2012 a CDwith Schumann’sDichterliebeinoriginalversionandBerg’sSevenEarlySongswithtenorArnoldBezuyenwasreleased.In2014MargulisreleasedanallSchubertconSordinoCDonaMSPSteingraeberD-232prototype.FonoForumwrites:"Margulisplays(Schubert)withanenthusiasm,asensitivity, and a creative imagination that are near incomparable." TheMSP website, www.MargulisSordinoPedal.com, states: "TheMargulisSordinoPedalisaquantumleapforthedynamic(volume)andspectral(color)expressivepaletteofthemodernconcertgrandpiano."In2015hislatestCDwasreleasedwithalloriginaltranscriptionsofmusicformBachtoShostakovichontheMSPSteingraeberD-232includingapianoduowithMarthaArgerichofNightonBaldMountainbyM.Mussorgsky,alsoinMargulis’originaltranscription-"…astonishing…"PianoNews;"…demonic…abrilliantachievement..."Pianiste.Over50titlesfromhisCDscanbefoundoniTunes.
JuraMargulis’sfatherandgrandfatherwerepianistsandpedagoguesandmethodicalpianopedagogyisanintegralpartofhisartisticvision.Heholdsmaster classes in theUS,Germany,Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Poland,Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia,Armenia,Israel,Russia,Korea,China,andJapan.HeistheauthorofPianistToPianist,aweblogofthoughts,observations,research,methodology,rules,exceptions,aphorisms,concerns,andsecretsfromPianisttoPianist,publishedinthepresentformatin2019byEmanoMedia. Jura Margulis is regularly invited as a judge in international piano competitions, most recently in the ARD MusicCompetitioninMunichandtheWorldPianoCompetitioninCincinnati.
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Jura Margulis was raised in Germany, where he studied with his father, Vitaly Margulis, at theMusikhochschuleFreiburg.HewasalsoastudentattheprestigiousFondazioneper ilPianoforte inCadenabbiaatLakeComoin Italy. In1994hemovedtotheUnitedStatestostudywithLeonFleisheratthePeabodyConservatoryinBaltimoreandmadetheUShishome.2008Margulis became the inaugural holder of the Emily J. McAllister Endowed Professorship in Piano at the J.W. Fulbright College of theUniversity of Arkansas. In 2018 JuraMargulis returned to Europe following an appointment as professor of piano andmember of theInstituteofScienceandResearchattheMusicandArtUniversityinVienna,Austria.
DISCOGRAPHY
2015CD,PianoSolo+PianoDuowithMarthaArgerichRecordingontheMargulisSordinoPedalSteingraeberD-232OEHMSClassicsLabel,incollaborationwithSteingraeber&SöhneBayreuth/Munich,GermanyAlloriginalandworldpremierrecordingsoftranscriptionsofmusicfromBach,Mozart,Puccini,Mussorgsky,Shostacovich,andothers
"...whatonehearsisastonishing..."PianoNews,Gemany
"...ademonicandbrilliantachievement..."Pianiste,France
2013CD,PianoSoloWorldpremierrecordingontheMargulisSordinoPedalSteingraeberD-232OEHMSClassicsLabel,incollaborationwithSteingraeber&SöhneBayreuth/Munich,GermanySchubert6pianopiecesfromop.90,94,andposthumous;WandererFantasie
"Margulisplays(Schubert)withanenthusiasm,asensitivity,andacreativeimaginationthatarenearincomparable."FonoForum
"Itiswellpossiblethatwewitnessoneofthemostsignificantinventionsinpianoconstructionsincedecades."BadischeZeitung
"TheMSPmayverywellbethefutureofpianoconstruction"MarthaArgerich
2012PianoandVoiceDuowithArnoldBezuyenOEHMSClassicsLabel,incollaborationwithSteingraeber,BayreuthBayreuth/Munich,GermanyRobertSchumann'sDichterliebeop.48inOriginalVersion(20songs)andAlbanBerg's7FrüheLieder(premierrecordingwithmalevoice)
2011PianoandViolinDuowithAlissaMargulisOEHMSClassicsLabel,incollaborationwithTELDEXBerlinBerlin/Munich,GermanyWorksbyFranzLiszt
2008CD,PianoSoloOEHMSClassicsLabel,incollaborationwithHR(HessischerRundfunk)Frankfurt/Munich,GermanyWorksbyA.Berg,J.Brahms,L.v.Beethoven,J.S.Bach
"Oneofthebestplayed,bestinterpreted,bestprogrammedrecitalsofpianomusicoftheyear."AllMusicGuide
2007"TheSymphonicSteinway"Steinway&Sons,LimitedSpecialEditionPromotionCDHamburg,Germany.OtherartistsfeaturedontheCD:YefimBronfman,ArcadiVolodos,EvgenyKissin,MichaelPletnev,EmanuelAx,andMarthaArgerich.
2006PianoSoloOEHMSClassicsLabel,incollaborationwithBR(BayrischerRundfunk),Munich,GermanyWorksbyCaplet-Margulis,Bach-Busoni,Wagner-Liszt,Schubert-Liszt,Saint-Saens-Liszt-Margulis,andothers
"Margulis'abilitytostructuretheBachChaconne,tobuildmomentumandattherightmomenttogentlyabate…notsinceHorowitz’soldRCA recording have I encountered a performance of Saint-Saens’ DanseMacabre that so grippingly leaps from the stage, as here in JuraMargulis’owntranscription."KlassikHeute
2005PianoSolo,Re-releaseoftheHorowitzSteinwayCDARSMUSICIlabel,incollaborationwithSWR(SüdwestRundfunk)Freiburg,GermanyWorksbyF.Liszt,S.Rachmaninoff,A.Scriabin,J.S.Bach,andM.Moszkovsky "Ican’ttellyouwhatagreatpleasureitisformetolistentoyourexcellentplayingonHorowitz314503.Whatawonderfulprogramtoo.WhenIlistentoallthosepiecesVladimirHorowitzplayedIseehimstillsittingatthishisbelovedSteinway."FranzMohr,legendarypianotunerofV.Horowitz
2003PianoSoloARSMUSICIlabel,incollaborationwithBayrischerRundfunk(BR)Munich/Freiburg,GermanyWorksbyN.Medtner,I.Stravinsky,S.Prokoffiev,S.Rachmaninoff,andA.Scriabin
"Margulis’powerfulspotlightingturnsthisSonata(Prokoffiev’sSeventh)intoapieceofongoingscreamingandhesitationthatbringslightintothedepthsofthehumansoul."PianoNews
"TheopeningoftheCD,theCorelli-VariationsbyRachmaninoffareexemplary,subtleandtransparent.OveralloneofthemostremarkablepianoCDsofthelastmonths."FonoForum
2000PianoSolo HHM&MLabel,incollaborationwithSWR(SüdwestRundfunk) Staufen/Freiburg,GermanyWorksbyF.Liszt,R.Schumann,andC.Debussy
"AnoverallmagnificentCD!" PianoNews
"ControlledObsession"(5outof5Stars,"ReferenceRecording")FonoForum
1998PianoSolo, HHM&MLabel,incollaborationwithSWF(SüdwestFunk) Stuttgart/Staufen,Germany WorksbyM.RavelandS.Prokofiev
"...thisinterpretationputsJuraMargulisinthecompanyofthegreatestperformersofthemusicofRavelandProkofiev."UniversitätsblätterFreiburg
1992PianoSolo,SONYMusicLabelHamburg,GermanyWorksbyR.Schumann,F.Chopin,S.RachmaninoffandC.Saint-Saens
"Marguliscannotbepraisedenough."Klassic.com
JohannGeorgAlbrechtsberger(1736–1809)AntonioSalieri(1750–1825)MuzioClementi(1752–1832)
WolfgangAmadeusMozart(1756–1791)LudwigvanBeethoven(1770–1827)
JohannNepomukHummel(1778–1837)
JohnField(1782–1837)
CarlCzerny(1791–1857)AlexanderVilloing(1808–1878)
FranzLiszt(1811–1886)
AntonRubinstein(1829–1894)
TheodorLeschetizky(1830–1915)
CamilleSaint-Saëns(1835–1921)WładimirPuchalski(1848–1933)AnnaYesipova(1851–1914)VasilySafonov(1852–1918) FelixBlumenfeld(1863–1931) LeopoldGodowsky(1870–1938)AlexanderSkrjabin(1871–1915)LeonidNikolaev(1878–1942)AlexanderHorowitz(1877–1927) ArturSchnabel(1882–1951) JosephMargulis(1881–1956)HeinrichNeuhaus(1888–1964)SamarijSavshinsky(1891–1968)
VladimirHorowitz(1903–1989)
KarlUlrichSchnabel(1909–2001) LeonFleisher(*1928) VitalyMargulis(1928–2011)
JuraMargulis(*1968)
PIANISTICANDPEDAGOGICALGENEALOGY
EarlyFortePianos1770
1790
CrossedStrings
1810
SevenOctaves
1830
MetalFrame
1850
1870 ModernConcertGrand
1880
1890 Mechanicalrecordings
AcousticRecording
1910
1930
DigitalAudioandVideo
1970
SmartMediaElectronics
1999*Inadditiontohistwomainteachers~VitalyMargulisandLeonFleisher,JuraMarguliswasfortunatetoenjoytheprivilegeofencounters inprivatelessonsandmasterclassesinthelate20thcenturywith,amongst others: Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Paul Badura-Skoda, Dimitry Bashkirov, Lev Naumov, BellaDavidovich,HansLeygraf,AlexisWeissenberg,ElisabethSchwarzkopf,FouTs’ong,VladimirAshkenazy,ElisabethLeonskaja,RaduLupu,MurrayPerahia,KrystianZimerman,andMarthaArgerich.
PianistImitationAlgorithms
2020
2188
Bio-engineeredPianist
UbiquitousPianistAI
