Various Composers - Gaïa (Gautier Capuçon)

Information

1. Max Richter - Sequence for Gaïa
2. Bryce Dessner - Towards the Forest
3. JB Dunckel - Wake
4. Ayanna Witter-Johnson - Forever Home
5. Ludovico Einaudi - Air
6. Joe Hisaishi - Prélude
7. Armand Amar - Boreas
8. Bryce Dessner - Towards the Light
9. Olivia Belli - Tàmâr Mĕtūshelāḥ
10. Xavier Foley - Ambition
11. Gabriela Montero - Sur le lac du Bourget
12. Jasmine Barnes - Life in Sunshine
13. Nico Muhly - Side Piece
14. Quenton Blache - Of Wind and Rain
15. Abel Selaocoe - Toro Tsa Kwa
16. Missy Mazzoli - The Usual Illusion
17. Michaël Canitrot  - Never Say Never

Gautier Capuçon, cello

Jérôme Ducros, Frank Braley & Olivia Belli, piano

Ayanna Witter-Johnson & Abel Selaocoe, cello & vocals

Sarah Rebecca, vocals

Capucelli Cello Ensemble

Date: 2025

Label: Warner Classics

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French cellist Gautier Capuçon presents Gaïa, an album of world-premiere works exploring humanity’s relationship with nature. Featuring seventeen pieces by sixteen contemporary composers—including Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi, Joe Hisaishi, Bryce Dessner, Missy Mazzoli, and Nico Muhly—the project portrays the Earth through the cello, alternating between fragility, majesty, and urgency. Inspired by Capuçon’s upbringing in the French Alps and a pivotal San Francisco concert, the album blends diverse genres, cultural influences, and modern aesthetics. Guest performers include pianists Jérôme Ducros and Frank Braley, vocalist Sarah Rebecca, and Capuçon’s Capucelli cello ensemble, creating a rich, immersive tribute to the planet’s beauty, force, and vulnerability.

Gautier Capuçon, born in 1981 in Chambéry, began cello studies at age five and trained at the Paris Conservatoire with Philippe Muller and Annie Cochet-Zakine, later studying with Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. Renowned for his expressive musicianship, virtuosity, and the deep resonance of his 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello “L’Ambassadeur,” he performs with leading orchestras worldwide and collaborates with prominent conductors and contemporary composers including Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi, and Krzysztof Penderecki. An active chamber musician, he partners with artists such as Martha Argerich, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Lisa Batiashvili. Capuçon records exclusively for Erato and leads his student ensemble, Capucelli, on international tours.

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