Daniel Cuiller
Baroque music, Chamber music
Daniel Cuiller, originally trained as a violinist, committed very early to a personal artistic path devoted to historical repertoires, combining period-instrument performance, research, outreach, and recording production.
In 1982, he founded the Orchestre Baroque de France before taking the helm of Stradivaria, Orchestre Baroque de Nantes, where he became Artistic Director.
From 1984 to 2012, Daniel Cuiller held a professorship in violin and chamber music at the Nantes Conservatory. He also taught Baroque violin at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) and at the International Academy of Early Music and Dance in Sablé.
Invited to conduct early-music programs and lead masterclasses, he has appeared in Helsinki, Oslo, Rome, Madrid, Calcutta, Taiwan, Beijing, Tokyo… and with the Montreal ensemble Arion, where he conducted Jean-Féry Rebel’s ballet music.
This program, recorded for Early Music, received the Opus Prize for Best Concert and Best Recording of the Year 2006 in Montreal.
His solo discography on original instruments (Sonatas by Fontana, Corelli & Co., Telemann Fantasias, Concertos by Leclair, Corrette, Pergolesi) complements the numerous recordings he made as conductor of Stradivaria (Universal, Cyprès, K 617, Arion, Mirare), projects devoted to early music and acclaimed by the international specialized press.
The revival and modern premiere of the tragédie lyrique Pirame et Thisbé by Rebel and Francoeur (Angers Nantes Opéra – 2007) followed his research at the BnF.
He composed the incidental music for Galantes Scènes (Angers Nantes Opéra, 2010–2011).
Daniel Cuiller rediscovered Henry Madin’s Te Deum (1742), released as a world-premiere recording in 2015 in the Alpha–Château de Versailles collection. Upon its release in 2016, the album received the Choc from Classica, the Clic from Classiquenews, and ffff from Télérama.
In 2018, he conducted a new production commissioned by Château de Versailles Spectacles, La Querelle des Te Deum (released on the CVS label in 2019).
In the summer 2018 honors list, Françoise Nyssen, Minister of Culture and Communication, bestowed upon him the rank of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
