Gautier Capuçon (1981) is a true 21st century ambassador of the cello. A performer of international fame, he played internationally with many of the world’s foremost conductors and instrumentalists.Along with that, he is deeply committed to music education and supporting young musicians.
In the summer of 2020, Capuçon brought music directly into the lives of families across the length and breadth of France during his musical odyssey, Un été en France. The fifth edition of the project featuring young musicians and dancers took place in July 2024. In January 2022, he created the “Gauthier Capuçon Foundation” to support young and talented musicians at the start of their careers. The musician is also a passionate ambassador of the “Orchester à l’École Association”, an association that involves more than 40 000 children and young people in classical music and orchestral practice throughout France.
An award-winning composer, Capuçon has captivated audiences around the world with his expressive musicianship, magnetic artistry and fiery virtuosity. Also impressive is the deep sonority of his cello “L’Ambassadur” of 1701, made by Matteo Goffriller. Every concert season he plays with leading orchestras and conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Pablo Heras-Casado, Paavo Järvi, Klaus Mäkelä, Andris Nelsons and Christian Thielemann. His extensive collaborations with contemporary composers include Lera Auerbach, Wolfgang Rihm, Krzysztof Penderecki, Henri Dutilleux, Jörg Widmann, Danny Elfman, Keegan Chen, Bryce Dessner, Karol Beffa, Nicola Campogrande, Bruno Mantovani, Philippe Manoury, Jérôme Ducrot and others.
Highlights of the most recent concert season mark Capuçon’s returns as soloist with: the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the batton of Simone Young, the Munich Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, the Orchestre National de France with Cristian Măcelaru and the Vienna Philharmonic with Andris Nelsons. He made a European tour with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Petr Popelka and was Artist in Residence with the Dresden Philharmonie and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
Season 2023/24 marks Capuçon’s European tour with pianist Daniil Trifonov with concerts in Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Dresden and Vienna. The cellist has also toured with Lisa Batiashvili and Jean-Yves Thibodeaux as a piano trio, traversing the USA from Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles to Carnegie Hall in New York. Other chamber music partners of the musician include Frank Braley, Jérôme Ducrot, Nikolai Lugansky, Gabriela Montero, as well as Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Renaud Capuçon, Leonidas Kavakos, Yuja Wang, the Labèque Sisters, and the Eban, Hagen, and Modigliani Quartets.
Capuçon regularly performs at festivals around the world, including Edinburgh, Salzburg, Grafenegg and Verbier. The 2022/23 season saw the debut European tour of the cello ensemble Capucelli, which he formed with former pupils of his, laureates of the Louis Vuitton Foundation’s La Classe d’Excellence de violoncelle in Paris.
An exclusive Erato artist (Warner Classics), Capuçon has won numerous awards and has an extensive discography. His album Destination Paris, reissued in November 2023, celebrates French music from classical repertoire to film scores and was awarded the Opus Klassik Award in 2024 in the Instrumentalist of the Year category.
Warner Classics’ 2020 album Emotions contains music by composers such as Debussy, Schubert, and Elgar and was awarded a gold disc in France. Other albums, with short popular pieces from different genres, including Sensations (2022), have garnered millions of listeners. Highlights from his previous recording catalogue include an Integral of Beethoven Cello Sonatas with Frank Brailey; an album of works by Schumann recorded live with Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon and the European Chamber Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink; Chopin and Franck Sonatas with Yuja Wang; and a solo album of pieces by Bach, Dutilleux and Kodaly. Capuçon has appeared on DVD in live performances with the Vienna Philharmonic/Andris Nelsons (Cello Concerto No.1 by Saint-Saëns), the Berliner Philharmoniker/Gustavo Dudamel (Cello Concerto No.1 by J. Haydn) and with Lisa Batiashvili, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann (Double Concerto by Brahms).
Born in Chambéry, Capuçon began playing the cello at the age of five. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris with Philippe Muller, and later with Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. Now a household name in his native France, Capuçon appears on screen and online in programs such as Prodiges, Now Hear This, Symphony Pour La Vie, The Artist Academy, and is a guest on Radio Classique’s Les Carnets de Gautier Capuçon program.