Rafaell Altino

Brazilian violist Rafaell Altino is established as a versatile musician, equally at home in solo repertoire, chamber music, and orchestral leadership. Currently in his 28th season as Principal Viola of the Odense Symphony Orchestra, he also serves as a lecturer in viola performance at the Danish National Academy of Music. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston and a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School in New York, having studied under such luminaries as Burton Fine, Samuel Rhodes, and Louis Krasner. He later continued his training in Europe at the academies of Cologne and Detmold.

A strong advocate of contemporary music, Altino has commissioned over 50 new works for the viola – including solo pieces and works with percussion, harpsichord, or orchestra – by composers such as Poul Ruders, Bent Sørensen, Anders Koppel, Lil Lacy, Bára Gísladottír, Mariza Resende, and Jocy de Oliveira. In 2023, he premiered Steingrimur Rohloff’s concerto for two violas, Doppelgängerkonzert, alongside British violist Lawrence Power.

As a soloist, he has appeared with conductors including the late Alexander Vedernikov, Vladimir Jurowski, and Thomas Søndergård. His recordings have regularly received critical acclaim; his 2019 Dacapo Records release, Works for Solo Viola , was nominated for two OPUS Klassik Awards, while his recording of the Steppenwolf Concerto (BIS) earned a nomination at the International Classical Music Awards. Altino plays a late 18th-century French viola with a James Tubbs bow, generously loaned by the Odense Symphony Orchestra Instrument Fund.