Born: June 3, 1946 - Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Died: March 27, 2017 - Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. |
The German violinist and conductor, Rainer Kussmaul, was a son of a musical family. He received his first violin lessons from his father and then studied with Riccardo Odnoposoff. He was a prize-holder at numerous international violin competitions.
Rainer Kussmaul performed worldwide as a soloist and as a member of the Stuttgart Piano Trio, formed in 1968. In 1995 he founded the Berliner Barock Solisten, together with R. Orlovsky. He played a violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1724. Between his concert tours with renowned orchestras and conductors, he recorded for radio, television and CD.
Rainer Kussmaul was also a successful teacher. He gives master-classes in many countries, and was the director of the violin class at the Carl Flesch Academy in Baden-Baden since 1987 and the chairman of the L. Spohr competition Freiburg. He was a professor at the Freiburg Music Conservatory since 1977, with the exception of the period from 1993 to 1998 when he was given leave of absence to enable him to take up the position of 1st Concert Master of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. |