The Department of Music in Arts & Sciences will present Russian pianist Jura Margulis in a solo recital at 4 p.m. Feb. 5 in Graham Chapel.
The program will feature several virtuosic works by late 19th-century Russian composers, most notably Mili Balakirev’s colorful Islamey, Oriental Fantasy, a piece famous for its extreme difficulty. Also included will be three preludes by pianist/composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, as well as Peter I. Tchaikovsky’s Dumka, Op. 59.
In addition, Margulis will open the recital with three impromptus by Viennese composer Franz Schubert, followed by transcriptions for piano of three Schubert songs by the 19th century’s greatest piano virtuoso, the Hungarian Franz Liszt. This set includes Liszt’s paraphrase on the famed Erlkönig.
Margulis was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and later lived in Freiburg, Germany, where he studied at its Musikhochschule with his father, Vitaly Margulis. He also studied at the prestigious Fondazione per il Pianoforte in Cadenabbia at Lake Como in Italy.
In America, he was a student of Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.
His prizes include awards from the Busoni Competition in Italy and the Pro Europa prize from the European Foundation for culture.
Margulis has played with orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Charles Dutoit, and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. He has performed at the Berliner Festwochen and the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival. As a chamber musician, he appeared with the Moscow Virtuosi, the Moscow String Quartet and as a duo pianist with Martha Argerich.
He is professor of music and artist in residence at the University of Arkansas.
For more information, call 935-4841.