Daniel Rubenstein

Originally from Brussels, Daniel Rubenstein has performed as a soloist, in recital, and in chamber music in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania, Brazil, Turkey, Tunisia, Israel, South Korea, and Japan. His performances include prestigious venues such as the Grande Salle Henri Leboeuf and Studio 4 of Flagey in Brussels, the Koningin Elisabethzaal in Antwerp, the Auditorium Manuel De Falla in Granada, the National Auditorium of Murcia, the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Henry Crown Symphony Hall in Jerusalem, the Tel Aviv Museum, the CCR Concert Hall and Kad?köy Süreyya in Istanbul, the Antalya Philharmonic, the Sala Reduta in Brasov, the Acropolium of Carthage, Minato Mirai in Yokohama, among others. Winner of first prizes in national competitions (Pro Civitate, Edouard Deru, Lioness Club Young Virtuoso), Daniel Rubenstein gave his first solo concert at the age of 15 with the Orchestre National de Belgique under the direction of Mendi Rodan. Since then, he has performed under conductors such as André Vandernoot, Jean-Pierre Wallez, Proinssias O'Duin, Georges Octors, Ronald Zollman, and others.

An active chamber musician, he has performed a repertoire of over 200 works with nearly 100 musicians, including Abdel-Rahman El Bacha, Brigitte Engerer, David Lively, Daniel Blumenthal, Peter Frankl, Hagaï Shaham, Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, Olivier Charlier, Yuzuko Horigome, Augustin Dumay, Peter Zazofsky, Liviu Prunaru, Gil Sharon, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Lluis Claret, Alexander Dmitriev, Luc Dewez, Miha Haran, Marc Grauwels, Francis Orval, Michel Lethiec, Pascal Moragues, and others. His interest in contemporary music has led to the creation of nearly 30 works written for him or dedicated to him, by composers such as Don Freund, Jan Van Landeghem, Frédéric Van Rossum, Michel Lysight, Oded Zehavi, David Loeb, Jean-Pierre Deleuze, Stéphane Orlando, among others. He also premiered in Israel the concerto for violin and oud by Aviya Kopelman.

Daniel Rubenstein continues his chamber music activities through his two regular ensembles, serving as first violin of the Ensemble Mendelssohn and as violist of Estampes, a trio of flute, viola, and harp. His discography of 11 CDs includes violin and viola recitals, chamber music, and world premieres. Several of these recordings have received excellent international press reviews (Gramophone, Crescendo, Klassik Heute, Fanfare). Daniel Rubenstein began violin at the age of six, studying with Marie-Christine Springuel, José Pingen, and later his father Jerrold Rubenstein. At 16, he was admitted to the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, where he studied with Marcel Debot and Philippe Hirshhorn. He then pursued five years of study at Indiana University in Bloomington (USA), first with Miriam Fried, then with Franco Gulli. He also studied for half a year with Nicolas Chumachenco in Freiburg (DE) and for two summers at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (IT) with Boris Belkin.

In addition, Daniel Rubenstein earned a degree in viola from Indiana University, after three years of study in Atar Arad’s class, and completed full piano studies at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles in the classes of Orit Ouziel and Robert Redaelli, obtaining the Diplôme Supérieur de piano with distinction. A dedicated pedagogue, he is professor of violin and viola at the Conservatoire royal de Mons / Arts2 (BE), teaching both Bachelor and Master students, as well as associate professor (lecturer) in chamber music at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, where he has also served as guest violin professor. He regularly gives masterclasses in Belgium and abroad. In 2009, Daniel Rubenstein took over the artistic direction of the Festival Mozart in Waterloo (BE), an international chamber music festival which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015.