Gautier Capuçon is a cellist. All styles of music interest him, classical, romantic, modern. He is also an orchestral soloist and considered one of the most eminent ambassadors of the cello of the 21st century. He performs all over the world and is also keen to transmit. Since 2014, Gautier Capuçon has been a jury on the television show wonders and this year he set up his own foundation to help talented young musicians start their careers.
This Friday, November 4, releases his new album, feelings. This is the last part of a musical trilogy started with: Intuition and emotions. Twenty skilfully chosen pieces make up this youngest. We find there The mills of my heart by Michel Legrand amazing Grace, Schindler’s List by John Williams, My way, West Side Story of Bernstein, but also Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev.
franceinfo: Something has changed in your way of interpreting this music, you seem to be lighter. Do you feel it?
Gautier Capucon: Yes. A lot has happened in the past two years, including the Covid period, the realization of certain things, just being yourself. We realize more and more what we want to do, almost what we are here for, in fact.
I have always done things from the heart, with instinct. Sometimes, we encounter difficulties, but they allow you to move forward and also to comfort you in what you hold dear and believe in. Believe in one’s dreams.
Gautier Capuconat franceinfo
These three strands show how the cello can ultimately be a form of continuity in memories. Does the cello extend emotions?
Yes, completely. The cello is my voice. This is what allows me to express myself, to say all these emotions that sometimes it is difficult to formulate with words, this is my case. The cello is also the greatest psychologist. It’s really a mirror that allows, when you let yourself be carried away by the music, when you let yourself be surprised by the inspiration, by the sounds that you’re going to release on the cello, also to understand a certain number of things.
With the cello, I feel that I have no limits, no modesty. I can talk about anything, about how I feel.
Gautier Capuconat franceinfo
You are getting closer and closer to your audience. The second part received the only classic gold record, all labels combined, of the year 2020, best sale of 2020 and 2021. How did you experience this success, these awards, this love from the public, the recognition of the middle too?
We all realized how much we needed art, performing arts, culture. Without art, one dies in a certain way. And to answer your question, this relationship with the public, it has always been there. When we are on stage, there is an audience, we play for an audience, we know that we share things, we know all that. But in fact, I had never felt it so strongly. I had never received so much or in any case, I had never perceived it in such a deep way. And it’s a relationship that’s grown a lot more over the past two years. In fact, this relationship with the public through exchanges allowed me to understand the measure of the depth of this relationship.
JI would like to talk about the film music chosen: you really went looking for very strong pieces.
Yes, these are works that upset me. That’s why I want to share them. It is true that they are powerful. It’s sometimes difficult, as a performer, to know how far you can let yourself be overwhelmed by your emotions. I do not have the answer. I hope that the end of my life, I will have it. But it’s still very mysterious. What goes into what we give? Do we have to keep a certain distance or can we really throw ourselves headlong into our emotions?
We have Romeo and Juliet too…
Oh that, I dreamed of playing it for a long time, The Dance of the Knights, it’s extraordinary and I must say that it works very well on the cello. Once again, I say a big bravo to Jérôme Ducros because he has this gift… Arranged, it’s very complex, it can be brilliant, like not highlighting the work at all. He has that talent.
You have decided to resume Nessum Dorma by Puccini. Do you ever cry when you perform a work like this?
Yes, it happens to me on stage. When I was younger, I forbade myself. I cut right away. It’s like I was scared. There was too much modesty, there was the fear of giving too much and it not going on stage. Today, I accept. It’s such a strong feeling to let yourself be carried away, soared by the music.
Which represents feelings for you ?
It’s a bit like a photograph, at a specific moment, in a lifetime, of the things you feel, the things you want to say. It is a certain evolution. It represents a lot of personal things.
You will be on December 1st at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris, on November 5th in the Arletty room, at the Espace Michel Simon, Noisy-le-Grand. The fact of meeting your audience in real life, is it absolute continuity, obligatory?
But yes. Especially since it’s not the kind of program you normally do in so-called ‘classical’ music. It’s a program where I speak, where I present the works, I tell things that I feel. Every night is a little different. I can’t wait to do this concert on December 1 at Cirque d’Hiver, because we’ll be with the whole team. And it is the adventure that continues, the artistic and emotional adventure of this record that continues.