Spain
French violinist Renaud Capuçon is firmly established internationally as a major soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. He is known and loved for his poise, depth of tone and virtuosity, and he works with the world’s most prestigious orchestras, artists, venues, and festivals.
Born in Chambéry in 1976, Renaud Capuçon began his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris at the age of fourteen, winning numerous awards during his five years there. Following this, Capuçon moved to Berlin to study with Thomas Brandis and Isaac Stern and was awarded the Prize of the Berlin Academy of Arts. In 1997, Claudio Abbado invited him to become concertmaster of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, which he led for three summers, working with conductors including Boulez, Ozawa, Welser-Möst and Claudio Abbado.
Since then, Capuçon has established himself as a soloist at the very highest level. He performs with leading orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Münchner Philharmoniker, and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. His many conductor relationships include Barenboim, Bychkov, Dénève, Dohnanyi, Dudamel, Eschenbach, Haitink, Harding, Paavo Järvi, Mäkelä, Nelsons, Nézet-Seguin, Roth, Shani, Sokhiev, Ticciati, Long Yu, van Zweden.
Highlights in the 25/26 season include two appearances at Carnegie Hall, a European tour with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer, and returns to the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Berlin, and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
A great commitment to chamber music has led him to collaborations with Argerich, Angelich, Barenboim, Bashmet, Bronfman, Buniatishvili, Grimaud, Levit, Ma, Pires, Soltani, Trifonov, Yo-Yo Ma, and Yuja Wang, and have taken him, among others, to the Berlin, Lucerne, Verbier, Aix-en-Provence, Roque d’Anthéron, San Sebastián, Stresa, Salzburg, Edinburgh International and Tanglewood festivals.
He is regularly invited to conduct leading orchestras including the Wiener Symphoniker, Karajan-Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, to name only a few. Guest engagements as a conductor in the 25/26 season include a tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, returns to the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre National de Mulhouse, and debut guesting weeks with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, and with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s as part of their Bach Festival 2026 at Carnegie Hall.
Capuçon has built an extensive discography. In September 2022, he announced the launch of his creative partnership with Deutsche Grammophon. His latest album, released in 2025, presents a compendium of works by Richard Strauss, in which numerous solo and chamber works are bookended by a new studio recording of the composer’s Violin Concerto, performed with the Wiener Symphoniker under Petr Popelka, and a reading of “Ein Heldenleben” from 2000, performed by the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, led by Capuçon and conducted by the late Seiji Ozawa.
Capuçon plays the Guarneri del Gesù 'Panette' (1737), which belonged to Isaac Stern.
