Renaud Capuçon and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra - Works by Gabriel Fauré - Music Box, June 24th, 2024

Gabriel Fauré: The French composer whose death, which occurred on November 4, will mark 100 years in 2024. We will listen to recordings made by Renaud Capuçon and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, from an album recently released on June 21st by Deutsche Grammophon.

Renaud Capuçon, the renowned French violinist, has been in love with Fauré's music since his childhood, and he dedicated this album in 2024, marking the centenary of the French composer's death.

This is a special opportunity for us to hear lesser-known works by Gabriel Fauré. For example, the unfinished violin concerto, of which only one movement has survived. Fauré worked on it between 1878 and 1879, and it was only published in 1985. Although Fauré also composed the second movement, he destroyed the manuscript before his death.

Also on the same album: some of the most famous orchestral works by Gabriel Fauré, even though orchestral repertoire was not a central focus of his output. These include suites from his stage works Masques et bergamasques and Pelléas et Mélisande. These are pieces that reflect the spirit of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, set in an Art Nouveau world of light and shadow. Renaud Capuçon and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra offer readings of these scores that may not necessarily be particularly inventive, but they still highlight the beauty of Fauré's music.

At 48 years old, Renaud Capuçon, whom we had the chance to see perform in Romania during the George Enescu Festival, enjoys a distinguished career. His most recent accolade was receiving the 2024 Artist of the Year Award at the International Classical Music Awards Gala in Valencia. However, Capuçon's work extends beyond that of a violinist - he is currently the Artistic Director of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Menuhin Music Academy, and the director of three festivals: the Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence, the Sommets Musicaux in Gstaad, and the Rencontres Musicales in Évian. Renaud Capuçon has recorded a significant number of albums and still finds time to work with and promote younger musicians whom he admires - as is the case with the present album.

Guillaume Bellom, a 31-year-old French pianist, performs alongside the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Renaud Capuçon, in Fauré's Ballade, Op. 19. Guillaume Bellom also appears on one of Capuçon's previous albums - the Piano Quartets by Mozart, released by Deutsche Grammophon on November 10th, 2023.