Judith Burganger
Judith Burganger
Professor Emeritus
Artist Diploma in Solo Performance and Chamber Music
Bachelor of Music
Master of Music
Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik; Stuttgart, Germany
Areas of Expertise:
Piano
Pedagogy
Chamber Music
Email: jburganger@gmail.com
Judith Burganger thrilled audiences in many of the world’s leading concert halls from the time she was 6 years old. She has an extraordinary history as a concert pianist, winning an array of first place awards in major international piano competitions. Her remarkable achievements include being: the FIRST American ever to win the coveted 1st Prize of the International Piano Competition (ARD) in Munich, Germany; the Bronze Medalist of the International Piano Competition in Geneva, Switzerland; the 1st Prize of the National Marjorie Merriweather Post Competition in Washington, DC.; the 1st Prize of the International Piano Competition of German Music Conservatories in Cologne, Germany; and finally the winner of a Grant awarded by the Cultural Coalition of German Industry.
When Lorin Maazel heard her play, he arranged for her to be on the roster of a major New York management and personally invited her to perform Richard Strauss's 'Burleske' with the Cleveland Orchestra. After Andre Previn heard her, he too, arranged for her to perform. This time she was engaged to play the Rachmaninoff 'Paganini Variations' with the Pittsburgh Symphony. She performed throughout the world with some of the most distinguished symphony orchestras and conductors in North America, Europe and Asia. Highlights of this acclaimed career include performances with the Chicago Symphony in Orchestra Hall under Bernard Haitink, the Cleveland Orchestra in Severance Hall under Kazuyoshi Akiyama, the Pittsburgh Symphony in Heinz Hall under Sergiu Commissiona, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in Kleinhans Music Hall under Michael Tilson Thomas, Josef Krips, William Steinberg, and Arthur Fiedler, the National Symphony in Constitution Hall, the Baltimore Symphony, the Toronto and Winnepeg Symphony Orchestras, the Munich Radio Symphony in Herkules Saal under Dean Dixon, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, virtually all major radio symphony orchestras in western Europe, the Tokyo Radio Symphony Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, among others.
Her chamber music performances include collaborations with such celebrated string quartets as the Cleveland Quartet with whom she performed in the Library of Congress and on tour, and the Emerson, Miami, Muir, Ridge, Lark, Alexander, Ciompi and Cavani. She is the co-founder of the acclaimed 'FAU Chamber Soloists' and 'Brahms Festival Concerts,' which have been actively performing since 1983. She has been in residence in both European and American chamber music festivals and has been a partner in “Four Hands at One Piano” concerts with pianist/professor Leonid Treer for over 30 years. Her vast and varied repertoire ranges from virtually all genres of chamber music, the complete chamber works of Johannes Brahms, well over 30 piano concerti plus a wealth of solo piano literature.
Judith Burganger was honored with the rank of Professor Emeritus by the president of FAU in 2013 and was a Professor and Artist in Residence at Florida Atlantic University from 1980 through 2013 when she retired. During her tenure, she was the coordinator of the Certificate in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, which she developed for the professional piano teacher and provided 10 years of "Pedagogy Saturday" lectures/master classes for piano teachers and advanced students alike. She created and developed all bachelor and masters degree courses for the piano major. She holds a permanent National Certification from the Music Teachers National Association and is a member of the National Federation of Music Clubs.
Her worldwide renown is discussed in countless international reference books on classical musicians published by the Cambridge, England, Biographical Centre among countless others. She has held the position of Artist Lecturer at both Carnegie Mellon University and Florida International University and held the Eva Browning Artist in Residence Chair at Texas Tech University. Professor Burganger is an ardent teacher who is deeply involved with her art and in guiding each individual student towards a successful achievement of reaching his/her highest potential and goals. Since moving to Asheville, North Carolina, she continues to teach online and enjoys staying in touch with her former students and friends! Her students have won international, national, as well as regional competitions.
Professor Burganger has an Artist Diploma, Bachelor of Music and Master degrees from the Hochschule fuer Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany, where she studied with Professors Hubert Giesen and Wladimir Horbowski. She remained almost 10 years there, learning in particular the performance styles of German/Austrian as well as French composers along with the language, customs and culture of their countries. Prior to her studies in Europe, she was a student of Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont and of Seymour Lipkin in New York City. She grew up in Buffalo, New York where she was a pupil of prominent pedagogue, Laura Kelsey, a student of Ernest Hutcheson of the Julliard School in New York City.
Professor Burganger’s recordings can be heard/viewed on YouTube and further information can be found in Wikipedia.