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. 

Capuçon began his studies at the age of 14 at the Conservatoire de Paris where he won numerous awards. He then 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 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, Boston Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Filarmonica della Scala, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. In the 2022/23 season, Capuçon made his Carnegie Hall début to a fervent ovation in a play/conduct performance with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

A great commitment to chamber music has led him to collaborations with numerous celebrated artists including his brother, cellist Gautier Capuçon, and taken him to festivals throughout Europe. Capuçon has also represented France at some of the world’s most prestigious international events: He performed with Yo-Yo Ma under the Arc de Triomphe for the official commemoration of Armistice Day in the presence of more than 80 heads of state. 

Capuçon has built an extensive discography and, until recently, recorded exclusively with Erato/Warner Classics. In 2022, he announced a new partnership with Deutsche Grammophon. His first album with the label was a collection of violin sonatas performed with Martha Argerich and recorded at his Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence. Recent releases with Erato include Elgar’s Violin Concerto and Violin Sonata with the LSO conducted by Simon Rattle, an album with Guillaume Bellom featuring shorter works arranged for violin and piano, and violin concerti by Vivaldi and Saint-Georges with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. 

Capuçon plays the Guarneri del Gesù “Panette” (1737), which belonged to Isaac Stern. 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.