French cellist back in tune with vibrant scene

Gautier Capucon returns after becoming one of first foreign performers to play in the city after COVID-19, Zhang Kun reports.

In keeping with tradition, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra is once again hosting a renowned musician for its 2023-24 residency program.

This time the artist there to lead is Gautier Capucon, one of the busiest cellists in the world today.

The 42-year-old French musician gave his first concert of the season at the Shanghai Symphony Hall on Sept 22, playing Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor, which is considered one of the greatest cello concertos in history.

Composed in 1919, and one of the last by the British composer, it was written as an elegy for his wife and became widely known in 1965 when the troubled genius cellist, Jacqueline du Pre (1945-1987) recorded a version with the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sir John Barbirolli.

Capucon says that he was only 6 or 7 when he first listened to the piece.

"I was moved to tears. Her playing is always there in our hearts and ears," he says. "Du Pre made such a touching, extremely moving recording that when we think about this piece, we cannot not think of her."

The winner of a number of leading international competitions, Capucon is favored by well-known conductors like Valery Gergiev, Semyon Bychkov, and Christoph Eschenbach. He also regularly works with many of the world's finest orchestras.

A week after he played in Shanghai, Capucon recorded the concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antonio Pappano.

Speaking of his time as resident artist at the Shanghai orchestra so far, Capucon says that the orchestra is "in great shape" and that he is impressed by the youth of many of its musicians.

"I am really looking forward to making music with them this season," he says. "Shanghai is a city of incredible energy. You can feel that it is always growing." It also has delicious food, he adds, and he would like to try the famous hairy crab during his next visit.

Earlier this April, Capucon became one of the first foreign performers to visit Shanghai since the COVID-19 pandemic. He gave two recitals at the Shanghai Concert Hall on April 20 and 21 alongside longtime collaborator and pianist, Jerome Ducros.

He will play Saint-Saens' Cello Concerto No 1 in A Major with the Shanghai orchestra under the baton of Charles Dutoit on Dec 16.

"Dutoit is a fantastic conductor and a phenomenal musician, and a very dear friend of mine," Capucon told China Daily on Sept 21. "I'm really excited to be making music with him and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra again."

Following this performance, he will collaborate with conductor Yip Wing-sie to present Tout un Monde Lointain by Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013) on May 17, who he described as one of the most important French musicians and composers.

"I was very lucky that I got to work with him 10 years before he passed away. Tout un Monde Lointain is magical, very poetic, and very complex. It is a very difficult piece, but it has such beautiful colors."

Born in Chambery in 1981, Capucon started playing the cello when he was 5. He used to frequently play with his elder brother Renaud, a renowned violinist. The Capucon brothers are currently focused on separate projects.

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn