Vieuxtemps: Works for Solo Violin Reto Kuppel

• Henry Vieuxtemps (1820-1881): 36 Etudes pour violon seul, Op. 48 (excerpts)
• 1 No. 6. Erzahlung (Story): Allegretto moderato 03:13
• 2 No. 7. Qual (Torment): Agitato 02:10
• 3 No. 25. Tarantella: Vivace 02:12
• 4 No. 27. Agitato 01:47
• 5 No. 28. Moderato 03:12
• 6 No. 32. Variations on the Gavotte of Corelli: Moderato 03:41
• Six Morceaux pour violon seul, Op.55
• 7 No. 1. Andante 03:41
• 8 No. 2. Moderato 03:29
• 9 No. 3. Prelude 04:14
• 10 No. 4. Tempo di minuetto 02:55
• 11 No. 5. Andante 04:12
• 12 No. 6. Introduction et Fugue 09:23
• La Chasse, Op. 32, No. 3: Moderato – Allegro
• 13 3 Morceaux de salon, Op. 32: No. 3. La Chasse (version for violin solo) 07:40
• Six Etudes de Concert, Op.16
• 14 No. 1. Allegro moderato 05:01
• 15 No. 2. Moderato - Grazioso 02:32
• 16 No. 3. Allegretto 02:48
• 17 No. 4. Allegro ma non troppo 02:51
• 18 No. 5. Adagio non troppo 02:18
• 19 No. 6. Adagio - Allegretto 06:02
• Total Runtime 01:13:21

Info for Vieuxtemps: Works for Solo Violin

Henry Vieuxtemps was a violin prodigy who became a towering figure in a line of violinist-composers that stretches from Viotti to Ysaÿe, and whose playing led to Schumann’s statement that he “holds us in a kind of magic circle”. Influenced in part by Paganini, Vieuxtemps’s solo works demand the full arsenal of virtuoso techniques from lightning speed to the purest singing tone. The Etudes, Op. 48 include a piece subtitled ‘Torment’, while the Six Morceaux represent the composer’s homage to Bach in their polyphonic style.

Reto Kuppel, violin

Reto Kuppel
has performed throughout Europe and the United States including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Herkulessaal and Gasteig in Munich, at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. He has appeared as soloist with the Hamburg Symphony, Ruhrstadt Orchestra Schwerte, Munich Symphony, Concertino Hamburg, the Ensemble Haar, the Munich Baroque-Ensemble and the Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

Reto Kuppel made his solo concert debut at the age of 13 in Greece. He has been the recipient of numerous first prizes in national and international violin competitions, including the German Jugend Musiziert Competition, and the Chateau de Courcillon International Violin Competition in France. He studied with Andreas Röhn at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, and with Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School in New York City. He studied chamber music with Ralph Gothoni, Herman Krebbers, Zakhar Bron and Felix Galimir.

After appearing in the gala concerts of the Franz-Wirth-Foundation and the Masefield-Foundation in Hamburg, he was invited to play in many festivals such as the “Tonkünstlerfest Baden‑Württemberg”, the “Schleswig Holstein Music Festival”, the “International Brahms Congress” in Hamburg, the “La Tribune des Jeunes Musiciens” in Geneva, the “Richard.Strauss-Festival” in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the “Rheingau Musikfestival” in Wiesbaden a. o. Reto Kuppel served as Concertmaster of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1997 until 2013. With this ensemble he concertized in the major concert halls all over the world.

He has recorded for radio and television, including NDR, tele5, ARD, Radio Duinrand, BR, Radio de la Suisse Romande and ZDF. He is an avid string quartet player and chamber music player and has released CDs for Naxos and AME. His three world premier recordings of works by Franz Schubert, Friedrich Hermann and Ferdinand David were highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike: "Straightaway it must be acknowledged that the playing of Reto Kuppel is absolutely sensational... Everything is played with taste and refinement. Tuning and tone are immaculate." (musicweb-international.com)

Currently, Reto Kuppel is Professor of violin at the Hochschule für Musik in Nuremberg.

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