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Vladimir Stoupel: Conductor
The Russian-born French conductor and pianist Vladimir Stoupel has established himself worldwide as an artist of extraordinary versatility, uncompromising musical intensity and technical command. His startling, emotionally charged interpretations and extraordinarily large piano repertoire have challenged and fascinated audiences throughout Europe and America. As a conductor, he has worked with numerous orchestras to critical acclaim - his performances hailed by critics as "enchanted" (Frankfurter Allgemeine) and "confident" (Tagesspiegel).
Since making his conducting debut at the age of seventeen in Moscow, Vladimir Stoupel has maintained an active profile as a conductor in addition to his esteemed work as a pianist. Orchestras with which he has appeared as guest conductor include the Philharmonie Neubrandenburg, Leipziger Pops Orchestra, Berliner Kammerphilharmonie, Camerata Hamburg, Junge Europa Philharmonie, Berlin Sinfonietta, Orchestre de Chambre d'Enghien-Les-Bains as well as his own Ensemble Courage and Sinfonietta Europea. He has also performed piano concertos conducting from the piano, notably with the Polish Chamber Orchestra "Artur Rubinstein", the Orchestre de chambre de Nīmes in France and most recently with the Karelian Chamber Orchestra (Russia).
2003 marked the beginning of several new projects including a critically acclaimed performance of the Fleischmann/ Shostakovich Opera "Rothschild's Violin" at Konzerthaus Berlin. Further performances of this opera, in conjunction with a staged version of Shostakovich's Song Cycle "From Jewish Folk Poetry" Op. 79, were performed to critical acclaim at the same venue in 2006. As part of Mozart Year 2006, Mr. Stoupel conducted productions of Rousseau's "Le devin du village" and Mozart's "Bastien und Bastienne" for "Sommeroper Schloss Britz“ in Berlin, and returned to Russia for the first time in 20 years to conduct the the Alfred Schnittke Philharmonic in Saratov. He was reengaged in 2007 for several conducting engagements with the Kammerorchester Schloss Britz. In 2009 he conducts a new production with the orchestra of the Marseille Opera as well as of the Shostakovich opera "The Tale of the Pope and of his Workman Balda" based on a poem by Alexander Pushkin at Konzerthaus Berlin.
In 2012 he will conduct several concerts with the Brandenbourg State Orchestra and in 2013 a new production of the Shostakovich opera "The Tale of the Pope and of his Workman Balda" at Konzerthaus Berlin.
Vladimir Stoupel began studying the piano at age three and made his concerto debut at age 12, playing Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He later studied conducting with Gennady Rozhdestvensky at the Moscow Conservatory and piano with Evgeny Malinin. Today, he lives in Berlin and performs extensively as soloist, conductor and chamber musician.
Caustic Fairy-Tale Humor
Review by Tobias Roth
Klassik.com, September 2009
"The music theater events in the Werner Otto Hall of Berlin’s Konzerthaus time and again risk highly interesting experiments; with novelties, rarities, and unusual formats. A small but important work by Shostakovich was offered at one such event this September, namely The Tale of the Priest and his Workman Balda, op. 36. This tale is a thoroughly ironic music that was at all times able to stretch its grin into a sarcastic grimace; the garish, corrupted workaday music characterizes the grotesque figures of the farce. The music, in a version for chamber ensemble, was directed by the conductor and pianist Vladimir Stoupel. The score, conceived for a large orchestra, was thus adapted to the room and able to make an effect there. The nuances of the colors and the vivid narrative tone of the music were shown to best advantage: the music appeared very close to the ear, and thus highlighted the garish effects."
Shadow Play: A Mini-Opera by Shostakovich in the Konzerthaus
Tagesspiegel Berlin, September 2009
"The sparse iconography always allowed space, above all for the music. The singers of the Linden Quintet and the Modern Art Ensemble under the direction of Vladimir Stoupel filled this space judiciously. If Shostakovich’s music perverts folkloristic models in order to criticize social norms, it does not sound ostentatious in Stoupel’s interpretation, but rather like a subtle jibe under the cloak of musical convention."
Morgunblaðið, Iceland
May 2009
Reykjavik Arts Festival
“The Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra played exceptionally well under the confident leadership of Vladimir Stoupel.”
Saratov News, Russia
June 03, 2006
The Alfred Schnittke Philharmonic Concert Hall presented three programs in May. Quite noticeably, a leap in quality happened on the 14th of May, when Maestro Rostropovitch conducted the Philharmonic. We will remember this concert for a very long time. It was feared, however, that the orchestra would not be able to bring about a comparable achievement again. But ten days later, Vladimir Stoupel stood at the desk of the orchestra. And again, the orchestra was playing with interest, verve and much energy. This conductor brought something completely new to this orchestra - something that they had never seen before. Stoupel, who appeared both as conductor and a pianist, showed highest professionalism in both roles. Although his interpretation of the Mozart the piano concerto in c-minor could perhaps be debated, his conducting of the "Italian" Symphony by Mendelssohn was unbelievably convincing.