Gautier Capuçon is widely recognised as one of the foremost cellists of his generation and has received consistently high critical praise for his recordings and performances. Born in Chambéry in 1981, Capuçon began playing the cello at the age of five. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris with Philippe Muller and Annie Cochet-Zakine, and later with Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. The winner of various first prizes in many leading international competitions, including the International André Navarra Prize, Capuçon was named ‘New Talent of the Year’ by Victoires de la Musique (the French equivalent of a Grammy) in 2001; in 2004 he received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award since which time he has received several Echo Klassik awards, most recently for his recording with Gergiev and for his recording of Fauré’s complete chamber music (October 2012).
Capuçon performs regularly as a soloist with the major orchestras worldwide, and is a favourite of conductors at the highest level including Gergiev, Dudamel, Bychkov, Haitink, Chung, Dutoit, Eschenbach, and Nézet-Séguin. In the 2011/12 season Capuçon received great critical acclaim for his debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic/Dudamel, the London Symphony Orchestra/Gergiev at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Montreal Symphony/Plasson and the Chicago, Boston Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestras with Dutoit. In the 12/13 season he returns to orchestras such as LA Philharmonic, Seattle, Chicago Symphony Orchestras, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Vienna Symphony and the Deutsche Symphony Orchestra with whom he will tour Europe. He also performs recital and chamber repertoire in the major halls across the globe including in New York, Washington, Tokyo and in Europe in venues such as Salle Pleyel (Paris), Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls (London), Great Hall (Moscow), Auditorium Nacional (Madrid), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and the Musikverein (Vienna) where he performs as part of the Capuçons’ Brahms-Fauré chamber music cycle. In the 13/14 season, debuts include the Concertgebouw Orchestra/Bychkov, New York Philharmonic/Boreyko and the Staatskapelle Dresden/Eschenbach in Dresden and the Salzburg Easter Festival. He will also play with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Haitink at the Lucerne Festival.
A regular recital and chamber musician, Capuçon appears regularly in the major festivals across Europe, and every year at the Verbier Festival and at Project Martha Argerich, Lugano. He performs with leading artists such as Martha Argerich, Nicholas Angelich, Daniel Barenboim, Yuri Bashmet, Frank Braley, Gérard Causse, Myung-Whun Chung, Jérôme Ducros, Hélène Grimaud, Angelika Kirchschlager, Katia & Marielle Labeque, Mikhail Pletnev, Leonidas Kavakos, Stephen Kovacevich, Gabriela Montero, Viktoria Mullova, Menahem Pressler, Vadim Repin, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Maxim Vengerov, Yuja Wang, and his brother Renaud.
Capuçon records exclusively for Virgin Classics. His recordings include the Dvorák Concerto with Frankfurt Radio Symphony/Paavo Järvi, Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations and Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante with Mariinsky Theatre/Gergiev, the Brahms Double Concerto with his brother Renaud and Mahler Youth Orchestra/Chung, and the Haydn Cello Concertos with Mahler Chamber Orchestra/Harding. He has recorded several discs of chamber music including the Piano Trios of Mendelssohn and Haydn with Martha Argerich and Renaud, and the Piano Trios of Brahms, Schubert and Ravel with Renaud, Frank Braley, Nicholas Angelich and others. He has also recorded Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet, duo works with his brother Renaud, and with Gabriela Montero the Rachmaninov and Prokofiev Cello Sonatas. His next releases include a recital disc of music by Schubert, Debussy, Britten and Carter with Frank Braley, and Saint-Saëns First Cello Concerto and Muse et le poète with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Bringuier.
As a partner of Gautier Capuçon, Colas co-produced, along with Virgin Classics, his latest recording with Gergiev and participated in the purchase of a Dominique Peccatte Bow. Since 2007 Gautier Capuçon has been an Ambassador for Zegna & Music project, which was founded in 1997 as a philanthropic activity to promote music and its values.
Appears by courtesy of Virgin Classics/
