Rik Kuppen is a promising young soloist and chamber musician. Frequently heard on stage and part of innovative, successful ensembles, he is 1st prize winner of the Princess Christina Competition, finalist of the YPF and followed the Dutch Classical Talent trajectory, where he was described as a 'color virtuoso'.
For his Dutch Classical Talent tour through the great halls of the Netherlands, Rik created a performance in collaboration with renowned opera director Wim Trompert and poet Myrte Leffring. Music and poetry, lighting and acting melted together in a unique and intimate way.
He started his musical journey when he was twelve years old and was admitted to the conservatory of The Hague at the age of seventeen. He studied here with Ellen Corver and obtained his master's degree in 2017. Since November 2019, Rik has been sponsored by the Kralings Muziekfonds Stringendo.
Rik took several lessons with Lars Vogt, Ferenc Rados, Rita Wagner, Edith Fischer, Dmitri Bashkirov, Naum Grubert, David Kuijken, Ronald Brautigam, among others. With his ensembles he was coached by Eberhard Feltz, Reinbert de Leeuw, Vera Beths, Johannes Meisll, Hatto Beyerle and Petr Prause, among others.
In 2018, he and his piano quintet De Formule won the Great Chamber Music Prize. The Formula is an experimental ensemble that creates special performances and combines art disciplines. Their last performance Gevangen in De Formule, made in collaboration with the NJO, was a great success. 'This performance touched me deeply. Musically and theatrically, the fantastic musicians of the ensemble provided an intense, unforgettable rendition of Shostakovich's piano quintet, in which everything matched perfectly and reinforced each other: a 'Gesamtkunstwerk' in the truest sense of the word. Such a performance is a rarity, time stands still,' wrote Truze Lodder.
Since 2020, Rik has been the new permanent pianist of the Brackman trio with Tim Brackman and Kalle de Bie. For more information, visit www.brackmantrio.com. He also often plays with Oskar Back winner Coraline Groen. They recently recorded the first movement of Richard Strauss' violin sonata in collaboration with the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.
He has been a regular duo with clarinetist Jelmer De Moed for years. In December 2019 their EP Dwaallicht was released with pieces by Robert Schumann and Alban Berg. They were guests in the 'young heroes' segment of the Podium Witteman program. In December 2019 they made their debut at Janine Jansen's International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht.