Recorded with Daniel Harding as conductor and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Much of the violin writing in the Sibelius concerto is purely virtuosic, but even the showiest passages alternate with the melodic. This concerto is generally symphonic in scope, departing completely from the often lighter, 'rhythmic' accompaniments of many other concertos. Renaud: "I discovered the concerto by Samuel Barber on a recording made by Isaac Stern, which is very moving for me because Stern played it on the violin that is now mine. I heard it again in Gil Shaham's interpretation. The first two movements are very lilting, very melodic and generate a lot of images. The finale is very virtuoso."
Following his beloved and best-selling 2018 album of music from popular films, Renaud Capucon returns to the magical world of cinema in Les Choses de la Vie - Cinema II. The violinist has dedicated this sequel to 19 titles written by French film composers or for iconic French films. This includes, among others, Michel Legrand's "The Windmills of Your Mind" featured on the 1968 soundtrack to The Thomas Crown Affair; Joseph Kosma's "Les Feuilles mortes", or "Autumn Leaves", heard in the 1946 film Les Portes de la nuit (Gates of the Night); and themes from the scores to The Shape of Water (2017) by Alexandre Desplat, Lawrence of Arabia (1962) by Maurice Jarre, Memories of Me (1988) by Georges Delerue, and Les Choses de la vie (1970) by Philippe Sarde, which inspired the project's name. "There's a great tradition of film music among French composers," explains Renaud Capucon. "Each has their own personality, their own style. The music of Alexandre Desplat or Jean-Claude Petit has nothing in common with that of Gabriel Yared or Francois de Roubaix, but all these titles have a typically French touch and charm." For this new cinematic musical experience, the French violinist has joined with the musicians of Les Siecles orchestra and conductor Duncan Ward.
Renaud Capucon recognises Vivaldi's Four Seasons as "a highlight of the violin repertoire", but it has taken him some time to add it to his discography. "For years, I refused to play it," he explains. "I'd heard it too much in the corridors of the Metro in Paris and as holding music on the phone. But once I'd accepted to play it, I was blown away by the power of the music... I realised that it's famous because it's amazing! It's a masterpiece. I've now played it frequently with Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and it feels fresh and new every time." He has chosen to complement Vivaldi's four concertos with two sparkling concertos composed in Paris some 40 years after Vivaldi's death. They are by Chevalier de Saint-George (1745-1799), born in Guadeloupe of French and African descent, who became a prominent and influential figure in Paris. He has been described in the New York Times as a composer who holds a "truly unique place in Western classical music history".
The violin was one of Bach's favourite instruments and inspired his most lyrical outpourings. We know he was greatly influenced by the Italian masters whose work he discovered during his Weimar years - by the power of Frescobaldi, the melodic flexibility of Corelli, the sunny grace of Vivaldi - but he developed his own wonderful artistry in writing music of polyphonic density for the violin and 'playing' with it's sound palette. His deep understanding of the instrument clearly enabled him to exploit it's full potential and to write as well as perform music of the utmost virtuosity.
Renaud Capucon expands his wide-ranging concerto discography with Bartok's two violin concertos. Composed almost three decades apart, they are highly contrasted, inhabiting very different emotional and musical worlds. Partnering Capucon is the London Symphony Orchestra under it's Principal Guest Conductor, Francois-Xavier Roth. - Firmly established as one of the world's greatest violinists, Renaud Capucon's career both on the stage and as a recording artist has spanned a wide gamut of concerto repetoire, chamber music and recitals. He has a reputation for impeccable performances and fine interpretations of classics and lesser-known repetoire, from his most recent albums with critically-acclaimed readings of the Bach Violin Concertos and the Vasks Violin Concerto, and a recital disc with Khatia Buniatishvili, to the Beethoven / Korngold and Brahms/Berg concerots, Renaud has become known for the breadth of his repetoire, his world-class chamber music partners, and the quality of is playing.
