Rigorosum – Boris Kuschnir (auf deutsch)

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photo © Wolf-Dieter Grabner

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts Violinkonzert Nr. 4 in D-Dur KV 218: Künstlerische Forschung als Weg zur Interpretation des Werks

(Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major KV 218: Artistic Research as a Way of Interpreting the Work

The topic of the artistic doctorate covers, outgoing from the historical situation, the meaning of the violin concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the oeuvre of the great composer, their place in the repertoire of the violinists of different generations and their influence on the education of young violinists for the understanding of the depth of Mozart’s music. In particular, on the basis of the Concerto No. 4 in D major K 218, the peculiarities of the interpretation are lit up regarding retaining the purity of the Mozart style and the necessary efforts around a way to the removal of the multiple technical and musical difficulties during the process of the development of an adequate interpretation of these works. During the generalization of my artistic theses particular emphasis will be put on my own, over several decades accumulated, educational experience.

Internal Supervisors and External Advisors: Kerstin Feltz (KUG), Andreas Dorschel (KUG), Mihaela Martin (Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln), Ulrich Leisinger (International Mozarteum Foundation).

Boris Kuschnir

Violin

Boris Kuschnir was born in Kiev in 1948 and studied the violin at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire with Boris Belenky and chamber music with Valentin Berlinsky of the Borodin Quartet. His many encounters with Dmitri Shostakovich (working on his last quartets) and David Oistrakh, with whom he also studied, had a lasting influence on his artistic development. His career started 1969 when he was one of the three winners of the Allunions-Competition in Leningrad where, in the final, he performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Yuri Temirkanov.

Since 1981 he has been living in Austria. He became an Austrian citizen in 1982. He has won numerous prizes at international violin and chamber music competitions. He was a founder member of the Moscow String Quartet. He has also founded the Vienna Schubert Trio and the Vienna Brahms Trio. Since 2002 he is also member of the Kopelman Quartet. He has made numerous recordings for labels including EMI, Naxos and Nimbus Records. Mr. Kuschnir is a Professor at the University of Music in Graz and at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. His reputation as a teacher won international recognition with the recent outstanding success of his pupils, Julian Rachlin, Nikolaj Znaider, Maria Dueñas, Sergei Dogadin, Lidia Baich, Alexandra Soumm, Dalibor Karvay and Pavel Milyukov. Boris Kuschnir appears with such illustrious partners as E. Kissin, L. Leonskaja, L. O. Andsnes, J.-Y. Thibaudet, J. Rachlin, N. Znaider, M. Vengerov, D. Sitkovetsky, R. Capucon, J. Bashmet, G. Caussé, N. Imai, L. Power, M. Maisky, B. Pergamenschikow, N. Gutma, S. Isserlis and M. Perényi. At the same time, he constantly gives master classes and is a jury member of various international music competitions (such as Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels, Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition, Niccolo Paganini Competition in Genua, Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris, Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition, Singapore International Violin Competition and others).

In 2008 the President of the Republic of Austria awarded Boris Kuschnir with the “Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria” and in 2013 with the “Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and the Arts, First Class”.