Judith Burganger

In 2013, Burganger was awarded the title of Professor Emerita by Florida Atlantic University for her exemplary dedication as a pedagogue and performer.

She has also appeared on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today” and television programs on PBS presenting duets with pianist, Leonid Treer. A collection of her performances can be seen on YouTube spanning the solo, concerti, and chamber repertoire. She is a founder and performer of the FAU Chamber Soloists (since 1985) and the Brahms Festival Concerts (since 1984); both are an ongoing series and the latter was devoted to the interpretive research and performance of the complete Brahms chamber repertoire, and the programs now include works of Brahms’ contemporaries.

As a teacher, Burganger has held positions as professor and resident artist at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Carnegie Mellon University, Texas Tech University (holding the Eva Browning Chair), and was a Professor and Artist in Residence at Florida Atlantic University (from 1983 to 2013), where she designed and developed the undergraduate and graduate programs for students majoring in piano performance, collaborative arts and pedagogy. Particular attention is devoted to refining the artistry of students through the thorough understanding of technique and body / finger mechanics, style and phrasing awareness, tone production and pedaling, and rigorous attention to score interpretation.

Following Rudolf Serkin’s guidance, Burganger went abroad to study piano and chamber music with Professors Vladimir Horbowski, Hubert Giesen, Ricardo Odnoposoff, Alfred Lowenguth, and Kurt Stiehler at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany. The list of earned honors grew as she entered the Concours International d’execution Musicale in Geneva, Switzerland (Bronze Medal), National Competition of Western Germany’s Music Conservatories (First Prize), and in 1965, she became the first American, as well as the first pianist in six years, to win the First Prize in the ARD International Piano Competition in Munich, Germany (other notable prizewinners of the competition include Christoph Eschenbach, Ingrid Haebler, and Mitsuko Uchida).

Judith Burganger (born 1939) is an American pianist and pedagogue.