Robert Kulek is an American classical pianist. He is of Latvian ancestry and currently resides in the Netherlands. He has recorded for multiple labels including EMI and Pentatone, and his recording of French sonatas was nominated for the Edison Award.

Career

Robert Kulek studied at the

Mannes College of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School cam ...

, in New York, then the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

, in London, and at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, where he studied with Boris Berman and Claude Frank, earning a degree in Performance. Kulek has performed as a solo pianist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestra in many prestigious venues, such as the Philharmonie in Berlin, the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

in Amsterdam, the

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Great ...

in Vienna, the

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Moz ...

in Salzburg and Casals and Ohji Halls in Tokyo. He has also performed at a number of festivals, including Schwetzingen, Mecklenburg, Nymphenburgersommer and Rheingau in Germany; Lucerne and GAIA in Switzerland; Colmar and St. Denis in France; Storioni and Zeist in the Netherlands; Ravinia in Chicago; and the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival. Kulek also teaches to private students, and has given master classes in Japan and at the Zeist Festival in the Netherlands.

Recordings

Robert Kulek has recorded for the

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Orfeo Orfeo Classic Schallplatten und Musikfilm GmbH of Munich was a German independent classical record label founded in 1979 by Axel Mehrle and launched in 1980. It has been owned by Naxos since 2015. History The Orfeo music label was registered ...

, Pentatone,

Avie Avie is a female or male given name. As a nickname, it can be short for Avis, Avery, Avanel, and Ava. People named Avie include: * Avie Bennett, a Canadian businessman * Avie Bridges, Dean of the Kinesiology Division at Santa Ana College * Av ...

and Tudor labels. A recording of French sonatas, recorded with cellist Daniel Mueller-Schott, was nominated for the Edison Award and was selected as CD of the Month in both The Strad and BBC Music Magazine. A recording of sonatas by

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

, Fauré and

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

with violinist

Arabella Steinbacher Arabella Miho Steinbacher (born 14 November 1981) is a German classical violinist. Biography Steinbacher was born in Munich to a Japanese mother and a German father. When she was three, her mother read that a German violin teacher had recentl ...

was a Strad Selection of the Month. A 2011 recording of French and Russian sonatas with violinist

Augustin Hadelich Augustin Hadelich (born April 4, 1984) is an Italian-German-American Grammy-winning classical violinist. Biography Early life and education Augustin Hadelich was born in Cecina, Italy, to German parents. His two older brothers were already p ...

was “Editor’s Choice” in Gramophone Magazine. His most recent recordings are for Pentatone, where he has recorded a disc of works by Franck,

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

, and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

's complete works for piano and violin, with violinist

. This recording was awarded 5 stars in both

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toget ...

and Diapason.

Selected discography

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

- Complete works for Piano and Violin

, Robert Kulek. PENTATONE PTC 5186367 (2011). * Sonatas for Violin and Piano by

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was p ...

and

, Robert Kulek. PENTATONE PTC 5186470 (2014).

Personal life

He lives in the Netherlands.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulek, Robert Living people American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians Year of birth missing (living people)