A day with Gautier and Renaud Capuçon II: Verbier Festival Essentials

Generously supported by Madame Aline Foriel-Destezet

Natives of Chambéry, France, the Capuçon brothers are no strangers to the Alps—fortunately for the classical music world, they are also no strangers to the Verbier Festival, where they have appeared and dazzled audiences year after year. For this virtual edition, enjoy never-before-seen content and legendary archival performances by violinist Renaud and cellist Gautier, whose history with the festival goes all the way back to 1995: then a student of Isaac Stern, Renaud was invited to give a recital the following year, and it wasn’t long before younger brother Gautier would take a place alongside him as a veritable cello star. In addition to their solo recitals and concertos, the brothers are experienced chamber music players, regularly joined by other renowned musicians in a perfect equilibrium between technical mastery and passionate artistry.

First up on this best-of program is a stone-cold stunner: Brahms's Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, with the brothers adeptly filling the lead roles. You'll also see Renaud share the stage with piano legend Martha Argerich in a dynamite rendering of Bartók's Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1, while Gautier and the astonishing Yuja Wang—a frequent chamber music collaborator—make magic in Shostakovich's Sonata for Cello and Piano. The parade of renowned performers continues as Joshua Bell, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lera Auerbach, Daniil Trifonov, Vilde Frang, Evgeny Kissin, Emanuel Ax, Yuri Bashmet, and many more favorites join the virtuoso brothers over the course of the evening, which concludes in high style with the Schumann Quintet, one of the undisputed masterpieces of German Romanticism.

Photo © Aline Paley

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