This was something I'd had in mind for a long time..." says pianist Alexandre Tharaud, "to put together an album for the sheer pleasure of it, in collaboration with dear friends and paying tribute to the wonders of the piano duet repertoire." The aptly named 4 Hands offers 18 tracks, each just a few minutes in length, each featuring Tharaud sharing a piano keyboard with a different partner. The repertoire ranges wide - from Bach to Glass by way of such composers as Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Piazzolla. 15 of Tharaud's fellow performers are celebrated pianists - among them the late Nicholas Angelich, Mariam Batsashvili, Bertrand Chamayou, David Fray, Víkingur Ólafsson, and Beatrice Rana. The other three, all stars in their musical fields, are shown in a new, pianistic light: cellist Gautier Capuçon, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and singer-songwriter Juliette. "The piano duet is one of life's miracles," continues Tharaud. "First and foremost, it is the most intimate way of playing chamber music... It was a joy to record this album... If hearing these pieces prompts people to buy some sheet music and enjoy playing duets together - just as we did in the recording studio - then I will have achieved my aim.
Destination Paris is a concept album from our best-selling core classical artist, following the success stories of Intuition (84,000), Emotions (145,000), and Sensations (63,000). Well-known lean-back repertoire from popular film melodies to French chansons to classical pieces - including "La Foule" by Édith Piaf, the main theme from Summer of '42 by Michel Legrand, "Beau soir" by Debussy, Sicilienne by Fauré, and "Chi Mai" by Ennio Morricone. Recorded with pianist Jérôme Ducros, the Maîtrise de Radio France, and the Orchestre de chambre de Paris under conductor Lionel Bringuier. Jean Jacques Goldman, one of France's most popular songwriters and composers, wrote a new song for this album, "Pense à nous", for cello, children's choir and orchestra and made a special arrangement of his "Envole-moi". Paris will be a worldwide destination in 2024 as the hosting city of the Olympic Games, for which Gautier's album will be the perfect soundtrack.
Cellist Gautier Capucon is the constant presence in this programme of music by Robert Schumann. In the Cello Concerto his partners are Bernard Haitink and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and in a selection of chamber works his violinist brother Renaud and the pianist Martha Argerich. "Bernard Haitink is a wonderfully inspiring guide," says Gautier, "and Martha Argerich carries me along on the composer's waves of romanticism and passion." - Universally recognised as the finest cellist of his generation, Gautier Capucon has a firm reputation as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He is a regular performer with the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, NHK Symphony, and at festivals such as Verbier and Lugano, and has won several awards at the ECHOS and the Victoires de la Musique.
