Gautier Capuçon
Encyclopedia
Biography
Gautier Capuçon was born in ChambéryChambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, Savoie
Savoie
Savoie is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860...
, the youngest of three siblings. His brother is the violinist Renaud Capuçon.
He started learning the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
when he was four years old. 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 the talented youngster 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. Following on, he then became a pupil of the distinguished cello pedagogue Philippe Muller
Philippe Muller
Philippe Muller is a French cellist and distinguished cello pedagogue.- Biography :Muller was born in 1946 in the Alsace region of France. He studied the cello with Paul Tortelier, Mstislav Rostropovich and André Navarra....
at the most prestigious 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
Heinrich Schiff
Heinrich Schiff is an Austrian cellist and conductor. He studied cello with Tobias Kühne and André Navarra and made his solo debut in Vienna and London in 1971...
at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
Between 1997-1998, as a student, he was cellist in the European Community Youth Orchestra (now the European Union Youth Orchestra
European Union Youth Orchestra
The European Union Youth Orchestra is a training orchestra for young people in the European Union. It is funded centrally by the European Union and by a number of EU member states...
) and also in the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, playing under distinguished conductors including Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
and Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
.
He now enjoys a flourishing concert career and is in demand internationally as a soloist, playing with many of the world's leading conductors and orchestras. He also has a passion for chamber music, in which he often partners his brother as well as with many renowned musicians.
He is also an accomplished pianist. He started learning the piano at the age of seven and studied it as his second instrument at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris under Christophe Egiziano. He enjoys playing jazz piano for recreational fun.
He married Delphine Borsarello, also a cellist, in September 2007.
Cello
Capuçon's principal instrument is a 1701 Matteo GoffrillerMatteo Goffriller
Matteo Goffriller was an Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos.Although it is known that Goffriller was born in Brixen, little else is known of him prior to his days in Venice before 1685...
cello which he possesses on loan. He also has a 1746 Joseph Contreras
Joseph Contreras
Joseph Contreras was born in about 1710, in Granada, Spain, hence his commonly used nickname 'el Granadino'. He probably lived in Italy during his early life, his style being Italian. He worked in Madrid from about 1745, as violin maker and repairer to the Spanish Court...
cello on loan to him from BSI (Banca della Svizzera Italiana).
Speaking about his Goffriller cello in April 2008, he said:
"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 MontagnanaDomenico MontagnanaDomenico Montagnana was an Italian master luthier based in Venice, Italy. He is regarded as one of the world's finest violin and cello makers of his time....
or a StradivariusStradivariusThe name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or reproduce, though this belief is controversial...
. 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
Domenico Montagnana
Domenico Montagnana was an Italian master luthier based in Venice, Italy. He is regarded as one of the world's finest violin and cello makers of his time....
cello as his "dream" instrument of choice, he said: "I hope one day to be able to play on a Montagnana."
Awards
- First prize, Maurice Ravel International Academy of Music competition, Saint-Jean-de-LuzSaint-Jean-de-LuzSaint-Jean-de-Luz is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.Saint-Jean-de-Luz is part of the province Basque of Labourd and the Basque Eurocity Bayonne - San Sebastian .-Geography:...
, France, 1998 - Second prize, 3rd Adam International Cello Competition, ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand, 1999 - First prize, 1er André NavarraAndré NavarraAndré-Nicolas Navarra was a French cellist and cello teacher.-Early life:...
International Cello Competition, Toulouse, France, 1999 - Victoires de la MusiqueVictoires de la MusiqueVictoires de la musique , is an annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists of the year.- Male artist of the year :*1985 : Michel Jonasz*1986 : Jean-Jacques Goldman*1987 : Johnny Hallyday...
Classique, “New Talent of the Year”, 2001 - Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, 2004
- Echo Klassik Prize (category: Young Artist of the Year), Germany, 2004
Discography
Gautier Capuçon is an exclusive recording artist for Virgin Classics (a division of EMI).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
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, 2006
- Schubert Piano Trios, 2007
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.
Management
Gautier Capuçon is represented by:- France: Agence Artistique Jacques Thelen, Paris
- UK: Clarion Seven Muses, London
- North America: Columbia Artists Management Inc., New York
- Japan: Kajimoto Concert Management, Tokyo