Der Rosenkavalier: Auditorio Nacional de Madrid

The Wiener Symphoniker can look back on an eventful history, an outward sign being the several alterations that its name has undergone. Unforgettable will remain the legendary concert before Pope John XXIII at the Vatican in 1959 as well as the world premieres of such masterpieces as Bruckner’s 9th Symphony, Arnold Schönberg’s Gurrelieder, Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand and Franz Schmidt’s The Book with the Seven Seals. During the First World War, the orchestra was saved from being disbanded only by a fusion with the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, founded in 1913. In 1944 however, the orchestra’s activities came to a halt for eight months.

A musician’s musician with a rare, virtuosic touch and a range that runs the gamut from impassioned to finely sensitive, Renaud Capuçon is one of today’s most sought after violinists. Born in Chambéry, France, Capuçon began his musical training at the age of 14 after enrolling at the prestigious Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris before moving to Germany to complete his studies under the direction of Thomas Brandis and Isaac Stern. Touring regularly as a recitalist, Capuçon is especially well known for his brilliant interpretations and recordings of Beethoven’s violin sonatas as well as collaborations with his brother, cellist Gautier Capuçon.