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Born in Chambéry in 1976, Renaud Capuçon began his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. 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.
He performs with leading orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. His many conductor relationships include Barenboim, Bychkov, Dohnanyi, Dudamel, Haitink, Harding, Paavo Järvi, Mäkelä, Nelsons, Nézet- Seguin, Shani, Sokhiev, Ticciati, and van Zweden.
Highlights in the 2026/27 season include performances with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France with Jaap van Zweden's tenure as Music Director, the San Francisco Symphony and Elim Chan, and with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, as well as the world premiere of Glanert´s Double Violin Concerto with Midori and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
A great commitment to chamber music has led him to collaborations with Argerich, Barenboim, Bashmet, Bronfman, Buniatishvili, Fujita, Grimaud, Levit, 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 Sebastian, Stresa, Salzburg, Edinburgh International, and Tanglewood festivals.
Capuçon has represented France at some of the world´s most prestigious international events performing at the reopening ceremony of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris with his brother, cellist Gautier Capuçon.
Since 2021, Capuçon has been the Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, where he usually appears as conductor and play-director. In the 2026/27 season, Capuçon leads the orchestra on a European tour with Martha Argerich and directs a Beethoven cycle marking the bicentenary of the composer's death.
He is regularly invited to conduct leading orchestras including the Wiener Symphoniker, Karajan-Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, to name only a few. Guest conducting highlights in the 2026/27 season include debuts with the Toronto Symphony, where he is Spotlight Artist, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin at the Philharmonie Berlin, alongside a return to the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Capuçon has built an extensive discography. His last recording was in January 2026 to coincide with the momentous occasion of his 50th birthday, Capuçon’s recording of J.S. Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (BWV 1001-1006).
Since 2014, Capuçon has taught at the Haute École de Musique in Lausanne. In June 2011, he was appointed 'Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite' and in March 2016 'Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur' by the French Government. In March 2020, he published his first book, titled ‘Mouvement perpétuel’.
Capuçon plays the Guarneri del Gesù 'Panette' (1737), which belonged to Isaac Stern.
