Estonian born pianist Kärt Ruubel is a passionate chamber musician and soloist. She has been resident in Germany since 2008 and currently lives in Berlin.
Kärt's signature recital programmes focus on the interconnection between lesser known works and standard concert classics. She combines pieces such as Shostakovich's Sonata no. 1 with well known compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach and the German romantics. As a soloist she has performed with several orchestras such as the North German Philharmonic, Pärnu City Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra Vorpommern, Neophon Ensemble and the Orchestra of Rostock’s College of Music and Drama. She has been invited to play at several music festivals including Festival “Klaver” and “Sügisfestival” in Estonia, Gezeiten Festival, Hohenlohe Kultursommer, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niestentaler Klavierfestival, Nordrügener Sommertage in Germany and Aurora Chamber Music in Sweden.
Kärt is also dedicated to the exchange of artistic ideas that chamber music offers and plays with such string players as cellist Florian Schmidt-Bartha with whom she has recorded for the North German Radio (NDR). Since 2007 she has given many duo recitals with her twin sister Triin Ruubel, including a critically acclaimed recital at the Usedomer Musikfestival in 2013. They have performed around Germany, Estonia, Italy and Switzerland.
In order to fully comprehend the various composing processes, Kärt loves to work with contemporary composers. Since 2011 she is a founding member of the German-based Neophon Ensemble (neophon.eu) for Contemporary music. As a member of the ensemble she has performed around Germany, Finland, Estonia and Latvia. Through Neophon Ensemble Kärt has had the opportunity to work with composers such as Jörg Widmann, Peter Ruzicka and Wolfgang Rihm. Kärt Ruubel performed the European debut performance of the piano concerto “Lying in the grass, river and clouds” by Marc Sabat. In 2015 she performed the piano concerto “Ataraxia” by Walter Zimmermann, which was recorded for the Bavarian Radio (Bayerische Rundfunk - BR).
Together with fellow musicians, Kärt organises Church & Salon concerts in the concert series “Kammermusik Kreuzkirche”, which is held in a church she lives next to in Berlin.
Growing up in a musical family, Kärt received her first piano lessons aged six at the Tallinn Music High School from Kersti Sumera and Mati Mikalai. Between 2007 and 2008 she studied at the Academy of Music and Drama in Tallinn with Mati Mikalai. In 2008 she continued her Diploma studies with Prof. Matthias Kirschnereit and Prof. Stephan Imorde at the College of Music and Drama in Rostock, Germany, where she successfully graduated her Master Studies in 2016.
Her work with inspiring musicians and piano professors such as Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Bernd Goetzke, Arbo Valdma, Jacques Rouvier and Dmitri Alexeev has contributed to her development. As an enthusiastic chamber musician she has received wonderful impulses and direction from such distinguished musicians as Daniel Müller-Schott, Julian Steckel, Martin Roscoe and Tatjana Masurenko. Kärt´s passion for the music written by Johann Sebastian Bach led her to Angela Hewitt, who became one of the most important influences for Kärt in understanding Bach's music.
During her studies she was granted scholarships by the Oscar and Vera Ritter foundation, the Horst Rahe foundation and the Alfred Toepfer foundation. In 2010 Kärt was awarded with a DAAD prize for extraordinary musical achievements by the DAAD foundation. Kärt is a member of association of Estonian professional musicians