Arnaud Sussmann

Arnaud Sussmann, violin

Winner of a 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Arnaud Sussmann has distinguished himself with his unique sound, bravura and profound musicianship. Minnesota’s Pioneer Press writes, “Sussmann has an old-school sound reminiscent of what you'll hear on vintage recordings by Jascha Heifetz or Fritz Kreisler, a rare combination of sweet and smooth that can hypnotize a listener. His clear tone is a thing of awe-inspiring beauty, his phrasing spellbinding.”

A thrilling young musician attracting attention for his unmatched sound, Arnaud Sussmann makes debuts in the 2016-2017 season with the Vancouver Symphony on Brahms Concerto with Cristian Macelaru, Pacific Symphony on Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3 with Carl St. Clair, and Alabama Symphony on Brahms Concerto with Carlos Izcaray, amongst other orchestras. He performs Chausson Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and a Czech-themed recital program with pianist Michael Brown at Columbia University’s Italian Academy Teatro in New York.

Highlights of the 2015-2016 season included debuts with New World Symphony under Cristian Macelaru, Jacksonville Symphony under Courtney Lewis and Grand Rapids Symphony under Marcelo Lehninger. Abroad, Sussmann played Brahms Double Concerto with the Israel Camerata Jerusalem in Tel Aviv with cellist Gary Hoffman and play/directed the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris in performances at the Philharmonie de Paris and at the Besançon International Music Festival in France. He has appeared previously with the American Symphony Orchestra, Stamford Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony, Minnesota Sinfonia, Lexington Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony and France’s Nice Orchestra. Further concerto appearances have included a tour of Israel and concerts at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Dresden Music Festival in Germany and at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

Recent recital appearances include University of Chicago, Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, Friends of the Performing Arts Concord in Boston, Cosmos Club in Washington D.C. and Chamber Music in Oklahoma. He has previously been presented in recital in Omaha on the Tuesday Musical Club series, New Orleans by the Friends of Music, Tel Aviv at the Museum of Art and at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Sussmann has performed with many of today’s leading artists including Itzhak Perlman, Menahem Pressler, Gary Hoffman, Shmuel Ashkenazi, Wu Han, David Finckel, Jan Vogler and members of the Emerson String Quartet. A dedicated chamber musician, he has been a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2006 and has regularly appeared with them in New York and on tour, including recent concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall, Korea’s LG Arts Center, Shanghai’s Oriental Center and the Beijing Modern Music Festival. In May 2017, he returns on an Asia tour with the Chamber Music Society to Taipei, Shanghai and Korea. He has performed chamber concerts at the OK Mozart, Mainly Mozart and Moritzburg festivals and appears regularly at the Caramoor, Music@Menlo, La Jolla SummerFest, Seattle Chamber Music and Moab Music chamber music festivals. Recent debut appearances include the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the Linton Chamber Music Series.

Born in Strasbourg, France, and based now in New York City, Arnaud Sussmann trained at the Conservatoire de Paris and the Juilliard School with Boris Garlitsky and Itzhak Perlman. Winner of several international competitions, including the Andrea Postacchini of Italy and Vatelot/Rampal of France, he was named a Starling Fellow in 2006, an honor which allowed him to be Perlman’s teaching assistant for two years. In September 2015, Sussmann returned to his native France to work closely with violinist Kolja Blacher and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris for intensive training on the play-direct technique, where he then won First prize of the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris’s Paris Play/Direct Academy.

A frequent recording artist, Sussmann has released albums on Deutsche Grammophon’s DG Concert Series, Naxos, Albany Records and CMS Studio Recordings labels. His solo debut disc, featuring three Brahms Violin Sonatas with pianist Orion Weiss, was released in 2014 on the Telos Music Label. He has been featured on PBS’ Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts alongside Itzhak Perlman and the Perlman Music Program and with musicians of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.