Masterclasses

Since the arrival of Renaud Capuçon to the artistic direction of the Academy, are invited every month to give masterclasses the greatest musicians in the world. Thus the students of the Menuhin Academy benefit, in addition to their daily lessons with their teachers, from the teaching of the artists below for the academic year 2019-20.

Clic here for the masterclasses calendar 2020-2021 (second semester 2020)
Clic here for the masterclasses calendar 2020-2021 (first semester 2021)
Clic here for the masterclasses calendar 2019-2020

Emmanuel Hondré

How to take your first steps in the career of classical musician? How to create your musical project? How to take steps to find concerts? How to write his biography? (100 Tips for a young musician. Emmanuel Hondré. La Lettre du Musicien Editions. 2019).

Director of the Concerts and Shows Department of the Philharmonie de Paris-Cité de la Musique. Flutist by training, doctor of musicology and former student of the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris. He is often asked to advise young artists and help them find their place in international musical life.

Gabor Takacs

Hungarian violinist and conductor. Musical director of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra since 2007, Artistic Director of the MAV Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Manchester Camerata, Principal guest conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music of London, Professor at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève, Director of the Bellerive Festival.

“We have to feel and interpret the sentences given to us, and imagine the rainbow above them. Keeping the spirit of improvisation, hypersensitivity and flexibility of play is essential for me “

Liviu Prunaru

Romanian violinist, student of Yehudi Menuhin and Alberto Lysy. First violin and Konzertmeister of the Concertgebouw he was also the Artistic Director of the Menuhin Academy (2010-12). In 1993 he won the Eugène Ysaÿe International Prize, the second Prize of the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition. He regularly performs as a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra, and gives concerts around the world. He plays on the violin “Paschoud” (1694)

Renaud Capuçon

French violinist, Artistic Director of the Menuhin Academy since July 2019. Founder of the Festival Les Rencontres artistiques de Bel-Air near Chambéry, his hometown, creator of the Easter Festival of Aix-en-Provence of which he is the Artistic Director. He plays on the violin “Panette” of 1737 which belonged to Isaac Stern.

Vladimir Mendelssohn

Romanian violist and composer. Professor of chamber music at the National Superior Conservatory of Paris, professor at the Royal Conservatory of Den Haag and at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen. He also teaches in Bologna and gives masterclasses all over the world. We also owe him several compositions for chamber music or symphonic orchestra as well as stage music. Since 2005 he has been the Artistic Director of the International Chamber Music Festival of Kuhmo in Finland.

Pinchas Zuckerman

Israeli violinist, violist and conductor. Studies at the Tel Aviv Conservatory where he was noticed by Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals. With their support, go to perfect their skills in the USA at the Juilliard School. In 1967, he was 19 years old, his first prize at the 25th Leventritt Competition launched his career as a soloist and chamber musician and played with Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Ashkenazy … He also worked as a conductor. Teaches at the Manhattan School of Music. Created in 2003 his own chamber set, the Zukerman Chamber Player. (He is married to Amanda Forsyth, first cello)

Alois Posch

Austrian double bass player. Principal double bassist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Visiting Professor for 5 years at the Salzburg Mozarteum, then Professor of Double Bass at the University of Music in Vienna. Since 2003 he has been the principal double bassist for the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. He plays on a double bass made by Johann Joseph Stadlmann in 1779 with which he performs on stages around the world.

Gérard Caussé

French violist. Conductor and Music Director of the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra, of the Camerata of the Caja Duero der Salamanca Foundation, Professor of viola at the Paris Conservatory and at the Reine-Sophie School in Madrid. He was named viola solo by Pierre Boulez from the founding of the Ensemble Intercontemporain. Its educational activity is recognized worldwide. He plays on a Gasparo de Saló viola from 1560.

Eli Karanfilova

Bulgarian violist based in Switzerland to study at La Menuhin Academy and follow the teaching of Alberto Lysy, Eli Karanfilova was part of the Camerata Lysy with which she participated in international tours. In 2003 she was invited to play as a violist at the World Orchestra for Peace in Moscow and St-Petersburg under the baton of Valery Gergiev and joined the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra as first solo viola in the same year and also regularly trains Conservatory students through sessions dedicated to orchestral repertoires.

Stephan Koncz

Cellist born in Vienna. Pupil of Robert Nagy at the Vienna Conservatory. Studied composition and conductor at the University of Vienna. Masterclass with Daniel Barenboim, Steven Isserlis, Heinrich Schiff, Olaf Maninger and Tamás Varga. Scholarship holder from the Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Winner of several international competitions. His position as first cello at the Verbier Festival Chamber orchestra is the result of intense collaboration with maxim Vengerov. After being a member of the Vienna Staatsoper Orchestra for 2 years, he joined the cello section of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010.

Philippe Muller

French cellist. Founded in 1970 a trio with Jean-Jacques Kantorow and Jacques Rouvier. Succeeded his master André Navarra in 1979 at the Paris Conservatory and gave masterclasses around the world.

Gilles Apap

French violinist known for his rejection of “classical institutions and their conservative mentalities”. Took the lessons of Gustave Gaglio at the Conservatoire de Nice, then of Véra Reynolds at the Conservatoire de Lyon where he completed his training, then he went to the USA to follow his training at the Curtis Institute. Creates the group “The Transylvanian Mountain Boys” which produces 3 discs. In 1985 he won first prize in the Yehudi Menuhin Competition, with whom he created a relationship of friendship and work for several years. Named “The Violinist of the 21st Century” by Yehudi Menuhin.

“For me, you are the example of a musician of the 21st century. You represent the direction in which music should evolve: on the ne hand, the patrimonial respect of the precious classical work… on the other hand, the discovery of contemporary (popular) music and its creative element, not only in the improvisation, but also in the interpretation” Yehudi Menuhin. Together they are working on a film produced by Arte, “In Memoriam Sir Yehudi Menuhin” but Yehudi Menuhin dies before the start of filming and it is Gilles Apap who finishes the film regularly broadcast on television channels. Until 2003 he was First Violin in the Santa Barbara Philharmonic Orchestra. Besides his classical interpretations Gilles Apap has a pronounced taste for folk, jazz, blues, Irish fiddle and Gypsy music. In 2002 he created a chamber music ensemble “Colors of Invention”. Artistic Director 2017-18 of the Nordic Chamber Orchestra.