Born in Lille, his teachers have been : G.Voisin (a student of Louis Cahuzac), G.Dangain, H.Druart, G.Deplus, Philippe Cuper went to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and in 1980 he won the first price for chamber music. He also studied musicology at the Sorbonne and was advised by J.Lancelot and S.Drucker of the New York Philharmonic.
His success in international competitions is also impressive : Genève, Vercelli (1979), Munich (overall price in 1982), Prague (1986 unanimous first price), Slovak price , MRAVINSKY medal St Petersbourg. Philippe Cuper now sits on the jury in Munich and Prague. He was invited by J.E Gardiner to be soloist at the Opéra de Lyon and by Alain Lombard for the Orchestre de Bordeaux.
After having been soloist at the Orchestre des concerts Lamoureux and solo clarinet for the Orchestre Mondial des Jeunesse musicales, in 1984 he become principal soloist for the Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris.
He has also developped his career with major international orchestras, such as the Czech Philharmonic and the Munich Bavardan radio orchestra. He has played under prestigious conductors : L.MAAZEL, W.SAWALLISH, S.OZAWA, P.BOULEZ, D.BARENBOÏM, Z.MEHTA, G.PRETRE, J.CONLON… In chamber music he has partnered M.W CHUNG, P.BADURA-SKODA, M.DALBERTO, D.LIVELY, L.CABASSO, PH.CASSARD, F.CHAPLIN, C.HUGONNARD-ROCHE, O.CHARLIER, L.KORCIA, J.P WALLEZ, A.BRUSSILOWSKI, A.MOGLIA, G.CAUSSE, B.PASQUIER, N.SANTOS, A.MEUNIER, C.HENKEL… and he has played in numerous quartets (Rosamonde, Parisii, Arpeggione, Alcan (Canada), Talich, Kocian and Venus (Prague), Takacs (Budapest), Wilanow (Warsaw), Trio Wanderer, strings Trio (Czech), Trio Tchaikowsky (Moscow)..
Philippe Cuper has played at the Montreux Festival, the St Petersbourg Philharmonic, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Purcell Room in London, the Prague Rudolfinum, the Brisbane Philharmonic hall, the Tokyo Metropolitan hall and the Seoul Art Center.
He teaches at the Conservatoire National de Versailles but has also tought in the States (Texas, Virginia), in Japan (Tokyo : Kunitachi University and the Osaka conservatory) in Easten Europe, in Brazil, in Australia (Brisbane and Camberra University) in Canada (Domaine Forget in Quebec) and in Korea (Szoul University), Tel Aviv (Musical Center).
Philippe Cuper has played as a soloist in nearly 50 orchestras, interpreting both the classic repertoire and debut performances of contemporary works (A.Girard, N.Bacri, T.Escaich, G.Conesson, J.F Zygel, Ph.Dulat ..). He has alaso recorded over 50 works on 20 compact discs.
Since 1997, Philippe Cuper has represented France at the European Clarinet and Saxophone society : he appears in the list of top players in Palema Weston : “Clarinet Virtuosy of today” published by Egon, London.
He has edited two collections devoted to the clarinet with Edition Robert Martin (for clarinet ensembles) and Editions IMD Arpèges, Paris.
He has collaborated with the Lys-Dante record company to re-record on compact disc the great masters of the clarinet, Louis Cahuzac, Auguste Perier and René Verney.
Philippe Cuper writes articles for “The Clarinet” (USA), “Clarinet and Saxophone” (London), “Clarinet and Saxophone” (Australia), “La Lettre du Musicien” (France) and “Haroniques” (France).
He plays the Buffet Crampon RC, RC Prestige and Tosca clarinets.