Rainer Kussmaul

Rainer Kussmaul hails from a well-known family of musicians in Mannheim. He was given his first violin lessons by his father and later studied with Ricardo Odnoposoff. He has appeared throughout the world both as a soloist and as a member of the Stuttgart Piano Trio, an ensemble with a 30-year history. He has worked with leading orchestras and conductors and is a regular visitor to the Berlin, Salzburg, Edinburgh, Montreux, Lucerne, and Bath festivals. In 1977, Mr. Kussmaul was appointed professor of violin at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg. He also gives master classes at the Carl Flesch Academy as well as in the US, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Japan.

He was principal concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker from 1993 to 1998, and for over 20 years he has been actively interested in historical performance practice, working closely with Frans Brüggen, Anner Bylsma, Bob van Asperen, and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. The works that he performs on Baroque violin range from Biber to Franz Schubert. Mr. Kussmaul has been the music director of the Berliner Barock Solisten since 1995 for concert tours all over the world and recordings on CD. He plays a violin made in Cremona in 1724 by Antonius Stradivarius.