Philippe Cuper
Philippe Cuper is a French clarinetist, born in Lille on April 25, 1957.
He is considered to be one of the best representatives of the current French clarinet school.
Biography
Studies
Cuper received his early training in Marcq en Baroeul from Gilbert Voisin. Cuper also attended various summer schools taught by Jacques Lancelot.At the age of 20, he was principal clarinet in Paris Concerts Lamoureux Orchestra. He continued studying the clarinet under Guy Dangain as well as studying musicology at the Sorbonne Paris University.
In 1980, Cuper graduated "summa con maxima lauda" from the clarinet class of Guy Deplus at the Paris Conservatoire, he was awarded a "Premier Prix", first named with unanimous vote of the jury for clarinet and also for chamber music in 1981.
He then joined in 1980 the Orchestre de la Garde Republicaine as well as the World Youth Orchestra. All the while he continued to study the clarinet with Henri Druart and consulted with André Boutard and Stanley Drucker.
Philippe Cuper was a winner in many international competitions: 1982 Munich,1986 Prague, 1979 Viotti, Italy and won a medal in Geneva, Orvieto, Mravinsky medal in St Petersburg. He has been in the jury of many competitions: Munich, Prague, Beijing,USA Young Artist, Romania...
He organised the first "Louis Cahuzac international competition" in Versailles.
The Soloist
From 1984 he became Principal Clarinet with the Opera national de Paris Orchestra.He played many times as guest principal clarinet with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, la Scala de Milan orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Bavarian Radio Symphonic orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, French Radio and all the contemporary music ensembles in Paris...
He played with all the best conductors: Ozawa, Sawallisch, Abbado, Maazel, Mehta, Boulez, Prêtre, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph von Dohnányi, Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Harding, Jurowski, Inbal, Jarvi, Oren, James Conlon, Chung Myung-whun, Armin Jordan, Philippe Jordan...
And as soloist with about 60 orchestras: Czech philharmonic, Bavarian Radio symphonic orchestra, Moscow symphonic, Kiev, Kharkow, Tokyo, Mexico, Guanajuato, Brisbane, Québec, Stavanger, Brussels, Brugge, Namur, Manchester, Asturias, Austin and Lubbock, Richmond Virginia, Lille, Toulouse, Picardie, Cannes, Mulhouse, Caen, Bretagne...
He was invited in many ClarinetFests.
The Repertory
He worked with a lot of famous composers like Messiaen, Francaix, Sauguet, Rosenthal, Mihalovici, Max Deutsch, Boulez, Dutilleux, Berio, Adams, Denisov, Knussen, Boutry, Palenicek, Camillieri, Holstein, Constant, Mefano, Aubain, Fénelon, Hersant, Komives, Bacri, Zygel, Connesson, Escaich, Girard, Zavaro, Stankovitch...He played the premiere of Paquito d'Rivera pieces for 5 clarinets in Boston and the Gronych Concerto for 3 clarinets and orchestra. with the jazzman Eddie Daniels and the Klezmer Giora Feidman at the Tel Aviv Opera.
He played also music from others composers like Weinberg, Perkowski, Donatoni, Olah, Lehmann, Dallapiccola, Marquez, Maratka, Parra, Michael Daugherty Concerto...
The Chamber Musician
As chamber musician he played with:- pianists: Badura-Skoda,Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Planès, Chung, Rigutto, Dalberto, Luisada, Cassard, Desert, Cabasso, Chaplin, Hugonnard-Roche, Koerner, Paraskivesco, Ciocarlie...
- String players: Ruggiero Ricci, Jarry, Brussilowski, Korcia, Charlier, Wallez, Pasquier, Caussé, Henkel, Chiffoleau, Meunier, Strauss, Demarquette, Wieder-Atherton, Gaillard...
- Woodwind players: Schellenberger, Leleux, Audin, Gallois, Bernold... Paris Wind Octet...
- String quartets: Takacs, Talich, Kocian, Kapralowa, Venus, Vilanow, Alcan, Diabelli, Bernède, Parisi, Rosamonde, Arpeggione, Manfred, Debussy, Lalo, Benaim...
He played sometimes old original clarinets like for example Haendel trio for 2 clarinets with 3 keys and horn.
Philippe Cuper is also a conductor: Martinu chamber orchestra in Cesky Krumlov festival, Les Virtuoses de l'Opera in Paris, Wind ensembles for Mozart,Dvorak,Holst,Strauss...
The Teacher
Philippe Cuper received his teaching degree in 1982 and became principal clarinet at the Paris Opera in 1984, which was the position of Cyrille Rose and Xavier Lefèvre.Philippe Cuper was a clarinet professor in "Conservatorio Superior d'Aragon" in Zaragossa from 2006 to 2008.
He gives many masterclass all over the world; Canada, Benidorm, Jerusalem Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Seoul, Canberra, Brisbane, Prague, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Cracow, Mexico, Guanajuato, Caracas, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Cleveland, Boston, Richmond-Virginia, Chicago De Paul University and Northwestern University in 2008...
Many of his students are now famous teachers in New York, Tokyo, Osaka University, Brussels Royal Conservatory, IMEP de Namur,Prag Conservatory, Switzerland, Bayonne Conservatory... and soloists in orchestras, New Zealand, Alicante, Winterthur, Liege Philarmonic, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Orchestras from Lyon, Nice, Mulhouse, Bretagne, Nantes, Orchestre Français des Jeunes...
Discography
He recorded more than 40 CDs as a soloist or chamber musician: Concertos by Stamitz,Pokorny, Bréval, Mozart, Weber, Ponchielli, Copland, Nielsen, Françaix, Bacri, Brahms and Mozart Quintets with the famous Talich Quartet from Prag, Chamber pieces by Nielsen, Stamitz, Beethoven, Mahler, Dohnanyi, Glazunov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Khatchaturian, Schubert "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen", "Tim et Tom", Louis Cahuzac Complete Music, "Kol Nidré", Koechlin, Debussy Rhapsodie with the Moscow Symphonic, Ravel, Poulenc Sonatas...DVD as principal clarinet at the Paris Opera : "La Clemenza de Tito" by Mozart with Susan Graham/Paris Opera, "Felicity Lott in recital", "La fille du regiment"by Donizetti with Alfredo Krauss, "L'Italienne à Alger"by Rossini,"Manon" by Offenbach with Renée Fleming, "Rossignol" by Stravinsky with Nathalie Dessay...
CD of symphonic music as principal clarinet at the Paris Opera: Alpen Symphony by Strauss / cond. by Jordan, Stravinsky / cond. by Conlon, Messiaen/ cond. by Chung conducted by M. Frank with Radio France Philarmonic, "Der Wanderer" by Hersant with the Orchestre National de France...and also much Movies Music in Paris.
The editor of Music scores
He is "directeur de collection" with the French music publishers Robert Martin and International Music Diffusion in Paris.Book references
Gilbert, Richard - "Book The Clarinetists' Discography, Grenadillamusic.comLawson,Colin - The Cambridge companion to the Clarinet, Cambridge University Press.
Weston, Pamela - Book Clarinet Virtuosi of Today, pp.72-76, Egon Publishers, 1989
In French:
Pâris, Alain - Dictionnaire des interprètes, Editions Robert Laffont,Paris.
Articles
1) On Philippe Cuper :Chantaraud, Alain - Philippe Cuper : l'école française de clarinette sous influence ? - Harmoniques, ?°7, octobre 1999, pp6-7
Paul, Jean-Marie - Philippe Cuper : interview - Clarinette magazine, N°8, 1er trimestre 1986, pp4-7
Paul, Jean-Marie - Philippe Cuper : interview - Vandoren Magazine,#3, 2003, pp6-7 p4-7
- Band Journal, December 1993, #12
2) Made by Philippe Cuper :
N.B. For The Clarinet magazine, a list of papers can be found in http://www.clarinet.org/masterIndexAuthor.asp.
Clarinette magazine and Harmoniques are out of print magazines.
Cuper, Philippe; Paul, Jean-Marie - Paris Conservatoire Supérieur: "Solos de Concours" and Prize Winners - The Clarinet, vol.15 #3, pp40–48. Original paper : Les Concours du Conservatoire de Paris, 1795-1986 - magazine, N°12, 1er trimestre 1987, pp4-11
Cuper, Philippe - Checking points in the Jean Françaix Clarinet Concerto - Clarinet & Saxophone , Spring 1998, vol.23/1 http://www.cassgb.org/magazine-back-issue.php?id=46,
Printed also in Australian Clarinet and Saxophone, vol.1,1, March 1998, pp 17–19 “Jean Francaix Clarinet Concerto”; and in Spain: translated by Justo Sanz for the Spanish clarinet magazine,
- Originally in : Le concerto pour de Jean Francaix - Clarinette magazine, N°28, décembre 1998, pp12–13,
Cuper, Philippe - Louis Cahuzac: The 20th-Century French Clarinetist - The Clarinet, vol.28 #1, pp48–57
Cuper, Philippe - In Memoriam - Henri Dionet - The Clarinet, vol.34 #3, pp26–27
Cuper, Philippe - Hommage au clarinettiste André Boutard, 1924-1998 - Clarinette magazine, N°28, 1997, 9.49 - reproduced in Harmoniques, N°4, janvier 1999, p. 30