Gautier Capuçon (born 3 September 1981) is a French
cellist
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
.
He is the younger brother of violinist
Renaud Capuçon
Renaud Capuçon (born 27 January 1976) is a French classical violinist.
Since late 2016 he has been teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music.
He is the older brother of cellist Gautier Capuçon.
Biography
Capuçon was born in Chambà ...
.
Biography
Gautier Capuçon was born in
Chambéry
Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...
, Savoie, the youngest of three siblings. His brother is the violinist
Renaud Capuçon
Renaud Capuçon (born 27 January 1976) is a French classical violinist.
Since late 2016 he has been teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music.
He is the older brother of cellist Gautier Capuçon.
Biography
Capuçon was born in Chambà ...
.
He started learning the cello when he was four years old.
[Gautier Capuçon interview, Borletti-Buitoni Trust, London, 2004] He began his formal musical education in his hometown at the Ecole Nationale de Musique de Chambéry, where he graduated with first prizes in cello and in piano.
In Paris, he studied the cello initially with Annie Cochet-Zakine, who had heard him in Chambéry and brought him with her to the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris (CNR), where he graduated in 1997 with the first prize in cello. He then became a pupil of cello pedagogue
Philippe Muller at the
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (CNSMP), where he graduated in 2000 with first prizes in cello and chamber music. After that, he finished his studies with
Heinrich Schiff at the
University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
Between 1997 and 1998, as a student, he was a cellist in the European Community Youth Orchestra (now the
European Union Youth Orchestra) and also in the
Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, playing under conductors including
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink (; 4 March 1929 – 21 October 2021) was a Dutch conductor and violinist. He was the principal conductor of several international orchestras, beginning with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961. He moved to Lond ...
,
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music.
Born in Montb ...
and
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...
.
[
He is also an accomplished pianist. He started learning the piano at the age of seven][ Now he teaches at Classe d'Excellence de Fondation Louis Vuitton with young students.
]
Cello
Capuçon's principal instrument is a 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello which he has on loan.[Gautier Capuçon interview, EMI Classics promotion film "Gautier Capuçon – Dvorak and Herbert cello concertos", Dec 2008] He also has a 1746 Joseph Contreras cello on loan from BSI (Banca della Svizzera Italiana).[
Speaking about his Goffriller cello in April 2008, he said:][Gautier Capuçon speaking on BBC radio, recorded April 2008, broadcast 2 May 2008]
I am very lucky to be playing this cello for ten, nearly eleven, years now. It is a Matteo Goffriller, of the Venetian school, from 1701. All the Goffriller cellos that I have tried are not easy to play. For each note you need to know how much bow pressure, how much vibrato and how much bow speed you can put on it. It is an instrument that you really need to know to be able to play; it is not like a Montagnana or a Stradivarius
A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...
. Montagnana, for example – most of them are really easy to play. So in a way, on the Goffriller, I probably search more and look more for different things.
Describing a Montagnana cello as his "dream" instrument of choice, he said: "I hope one day to be able to play on a Montagnana."[
]
Awards
*1998: Maurice Ravel International Academy of Music Competition - First Prize
*1999: Adam International Cello Competition - Second Prize
*1999: André Navarra International Cello Competition - First Prize
*2001: Victoires de la Musique Classique - New Talent of the Year
*2004: Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award
*2004: ECHO Klassik Award - Young Artist of the Year
*2007: ECHO Klassik Award - Chamber Music Recording of the Year (20th/21st Century)
*2011: ECHO Klassik Award - Concerto Recording of the Year
*2012: ECHO Klassik Award - Chamber Music Recording of the Year (19th Century/Mixed Ensemble)
Discography
Gautier Capuçon was an exclusive recording artist for Virgin Classics
Virgin Classics was a record label founded in 1988 as part of Richard Branson's Virgin Records.
The unit, along with EMI Classics, was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2012 as part of the takeover of the EMI Music Group, however the terms o ...
(a division of EMI). In 2015 he recorded for Erato
In Greek mythology, Erato (; ) is one of the Greek Muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius of Rhodes playfully sugge ...
, a division of Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
.
Orchestral
*Dvorak – Cello Concerto, 2009
*Herbert – Cello Concerto no.2, 2009
*Haydn – Cello Concertos, 2003
*Brahms – Double Concerto, 2007
*Tchaikovsky – Variations on a Rococo Theme, 2010
*Prokofiev – Sinfonia Concertante, 2010
*Saint-Saëns - Cello Concerto n°1, 2013
*Shostakovich – Cello Concertos, 2015
*Schumann - Cello Concerto, 2019
Chamber
*Ravel – Chamber Music, 2002
*Face à Face: Violin & Cello Duets, 2003
*Saint Saëns – Carnival of the Animals, 2003
*Brahms Piano Trios, 2004
*Schubert – Trout Quintet, 2004
*Inventions: Violin & Cello Duets (Bach, Eisler, Karol Beffa, Bartok, Martinu), 2006
*Schubert Piano Trios, 2007
*Rachmaninov & Prokofiev: Cello Sonatas, 2008
*Fauré: Complete chamber music for strings, 2011
Other albums
In addition, Gautier Capuçon has featured in EMI's annual CD releases of live recordings from the Lugano Festival each year, "Martha Argerich & Friends", at which he is a frequent returning guest performer.
He also released these albums:
Collaborations
DVDs
Management
Gautier Capuçon is represented by:
*France: Agence Artistique Jacques Thelen, Paris
*UK: Harrison Parrott
*Germany: Weigold & Böhm
*North America: Columbia Artists Management Inc., New York
*Japan: Kajimoto Concert Management, Tokyo
References
External links
Official websiteGautier Capuçon's discography on Warner Classics/ERATO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capucon, Gautier
1981 births
Living people
People from Chambéry
French classical cellists
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
Erato Records artists