Gautier Capuçon is a true ambassador for the cello in the 21st century. He performs internationally with many of the world's best conductors and instrumentalists and is also committed to training and promoting young musicians from all fields. In summer 2020, Gautier Capuçon brought music directly into the lives of families across France with his musical odyssey "Un été en France". The fifth edition of the project with young musicians and dancers will take place in July 2024. In January 2022, Gautier Capuçon set up his own foundation to support young and talented musicians at the beginning of their careers. Capuçon is also a passionate ambassador for the Orchestre à l'École association, which brings classical music to more than 42,000 schoolchildren across France.
A multiple prizewinner, Gautier Capuçon is praised for his expressive musicality, exuberant virtuosity and the deep sonority of his 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello "L'Ambassadeur". He performs with the world's leading orchestras every season and works with conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Andrès Orozco-Estrada, Pablo Heras-Casado, Paavo Järvi, Klaus Mäkelä, Andris Nelsons and Christian Thielemann. Among the contemporary composers he has already worked with are Lera Auerbach, Karol Beffa, Esteban Benzecry, Nicola Campogrande, Qigang Chen, Guillaume Connesson, Bryce Dessner, Richard Dubugnon, Henry Dutilleux, Danny Elfman, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Manoury, Bruno Mantovani, Krzysztof Penderecki, Wolfgang Rihm and Jörg Widmann.
Highlights of the 2023/24 season include re-invitations as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Simone Young, the Munich Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, the Orchestre Nationale de France with Cristian Măcelaru and the Vienna Philharmonic under Andris Nelsons. He is touring Europe as a soloist with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Petr Popelka; he is also Artist in Residence with the Dresden Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
In October 2023, he embarked on a piano trio tour across the USA with his longstanding musical partners Lisa Batiashvili and Jean-Yves Thibaudet - from Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles to Carnegie Hall in New York. A European tour with pianist Daniil Trifonov is also planned for 2023/24, including concerts in Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Dresden and Vienna.
His other chamber music partners include Frank Braley, Jérôme Ducros, Nikolai Lugansky, Gabriela Montero as well as Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Renaud Capuçon, Leonidas Kavakos, Andreas Ottensamer, Yuja Wang, the Labèque sisters and the Ébène, Hagen and Modigliani quartets. Gautier Capuçon regularly performs at festivals around the world, including Edinburgh, Salzburg, Grafenegg and Verbier. In the 2022/23 season, his cello ensemble Capucelli, which he founded with his former students, went on tour for the first time and performed in renowned concert halls throughout Europe, including Paris, Vienna and Geneva.
Gautier Capuçon has received numerous awards as an exclusive artist of Erato (Warner Classics) and can look back on an extensive discography of important concerto and chamber music literature. His album "Destination Paris", released in November 2023, celebrates French music from the classical repertoire to film music. The album "Emotions", released by Warner Classics in 2020, contains music by composers such as Debussy, Schubert and Elgar and has achieved gold status in France. Other albums containing short, popular pieces from various genres, including "Sensations", have been listened to millions of times online. Highlights of his back catalogue include the complete Beethoven sonatas with Frank Braley, an album of works by Schumann recorded live with Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Bernard Haitink, sonatas by Chopin and Franck with Yuja Wang and a solo album for his 40th birthday with works by Bach, Dutilleux and Kodaly.
Gautier Capuçon was born in Chambéry and began playing the cello at the age of five. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris with Philippe Muller and Annie Cochet-Zakine and later with Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. Capuçon is now a well-known face in his home country of France: he appears on television and online in programmes such as "Prodiges", "Now Hear This", "Symphony Pour La Vie" and "The Artist Academy" and is a guest presenter on Radio Classique in the programme "Les Carnets de Gautier Capuçon".