Renaud Capuçon

Born in Chambéry in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France in 1976, French violinist Renaud Capuçon studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Gérard Poulet and Veda Reynolds. He then went to Berlin to continue his training with Thomas Brandis and also received valuable advice from Isaac Stern. In 1997, Claudio Abbado engaged him as concertmaster of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, of which he was a member for three years. Parallel to this, Capuçon’s career as a soloist developed and soon took him to the major orchestras in Europe and America. He has since worked with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Boston and London Symphony Orchestras, the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre National de France, the Berlin and Dresden State Orchestras, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. For some time now, Capuçon has been turning his attention increasingly to conducting; in 2021, he took on artistic direction of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. In addition to their numerous concerts in Switzerland, he can also be heard with this ensemble in South Korea, Paris, Copenhagen, and Cologne in the 2024-25 season. He additionally performs with the New York Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, among others. As a passionate chamber musician, he has performed with Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Frank Braley, Hélène Grimaud, Denis Kozhukhin, Daniil Trifonov, and with his brother, the cellist Gautier Capuçon. Renaud Capuçon is Artistic Director of the Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence, the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, and the Rencontres Musicales d’Évian. His recordings have received numerous awards; his most recent album, of music by Fauré, was released in June 2024. Renaud Capuçon was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite in 2011 and Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in 2016. He plays the Guarneri del Gesù “Panette” from 1737, which previously belonged to Isaac Stern.

Lucerne Festival (IMF) debut 11 April 2000 playing Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante, K. 364, with Stefan Anton Reck leading the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra.

August 2024