Gautier Capuçon

From an early age, French cellist Gautier Capuçon has moved within the upper echelons of the classical music world, performing solo, chamber and concerto repertoire. He has toured with Martha Argerich, one of the finest of all living pianists, and virtuoso violinist Viktoria Mullova, with whom he has formed a trio along with pianist Katia Labèque. He also plays and records with his older brother, celebrated concert violinist Renaud Capuçon; both are signed to Erato/Warner Classics. Born in 1981 in Chambéry in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France, Gautier began learning the cello at four years old; his two most influential teachers, Philippe Muller and Heinrich Schiff, were both pupils of the distinguished French cellist André Navarra. Capuçon wowed critics with the maturity and focused intensity of his playing—not least in the concerto repertoire. With conductor Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, Capuçon in 2015 recorded emotionally driven accounts of the Shostakovich Cello Concertos Nos 1 and 2 (1959, 1966). He has also given compelling accounts of the Dvořák Cello Concerto (1896) and Victor Herbert's Cello Concerto No. 2 (1894), pairing the two works on disc under the baton of Paavo Järvi. A champion of new works, Capuçon has collaborated with some of the greatest composers of modern times, including Krzysztof Penderecki, Wolfgang Rihm and Henri Dutilleux. He has played a 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello since he was a teenager.