Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Chevalier de Saint-George Concertos Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne & Renaud Capuçon

• Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741): The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring":
• 1 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring": I. Allegro 03:08
• 2 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring": II. Largo a pianissimo sempre 02:36
• 3 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring": III. Allegro. Danza pastorale 03:52
• The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "Summer":
• 4 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "Summer": I. Allegro non molto 04:42
• 5 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "Summer": II. Adagio - Presto 02:03
• 6 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "Summer": III. Presto 02:36
• The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "Autumn":
• 7 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "Autumn": I. Allegro 04:49
• 8 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "Autumn": II. Adagio molto 02:10
• 9 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "Autumn": III. Allegro "la caccia" 03:14
• The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "Winter":
• 10 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "Winter": I. Allegro non molto 03:27
• 11 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "Winter": II. Largo 01:51
• 12 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "Winter": III. Allegro 03:36
• Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George (1745 - 1799): Violin Concerto No. 9 in G Major, Op. 8:
• 13 Chevalier de Saint-George: Violin Concerto No. 9 in G Major, Op. 8: I. Allegro 10:12
• 14 Chevalier de Saint-George: Violin Concerto No. 9 in G Major, Op. 8: II. Largo 04:57
• 15 Chevalier de Saint-George: Violin Concerto No. 9 in G Major, Op. 8: III. Rondeau 03:30
• Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 5 No. 1:
• 16 Chevalier de Saint-George: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 5 No. 1: I. Allegro 08:53
• 17 Chevalier de Saint-George: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 5 No. 1: II. Andante moderato 04:10
• 18 Chevalier de Saint-George: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 5 No. 1: III. Rondeau 04:44
• Total Runtime 01:14:30

Info for Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Chevalier de Saint-George Concertos

"Renaud Capuçon is one of France's most brilliant musical personalities," wrote the cultural channel Arte about the multi-faceted violinist. With violin in hand, he leads his Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne - as he did for the joint album Vivaldi Les 4 Saisons. Here Capuçon combines what is probably Vivaldi's most famous work, The Four Seasons, with two violin concertos by the now almost forgotten composer Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

Born in Guadeloupe in 1745 to a plantation owner and a Senegalese slave, Chevalier de Saint-Georges caused a sensation as a musician in Paris - as a composer, violinist and leader of one of the French capital's leading orchestras at the time. Jokingly, the darling of Parisian society was also called "black Mozart" because his works were reminiscent in style of his genius colleague, who was ten years younger. (Presumably, however, the young Mozart was inspired by the works of the elder). Renaud Capuçon precedes Saint-Georges' violin concertos with Vivaldi's imaginative and effective program music. In The Four Seasons, the Baroque composer gives musical form to natural phenomena, from birdsong to thunderstorms to snow and ice. A welcome opportunity for the star violinist to once again demonstrate his brilliant technique and expressive power.

"Renaud Capuçon’s Four Seasons are of the straightforward variety, with little or no decoration, elaboration or dramatic mugging. The playing is excellent from everybody. ‘Spring’ is bright-eyed, replete with happily tweeting birds; the Largo is a serene, glistening evocation of a sleeping shepherd, while the final Allegro is clipped and courtly. In the dozing Allegro non molto of ‘Summer’ there are more fine birds, an energetic cuckoo and some crystalline depictions of turtle doves and goldfinch. The storm is violent indeed, and Capuçon paints an expressive, pliant picture of the weeping shepherd boy. In the fierce final Presto he bites and snarls. ‘Autumn’ abounds in pristine articulation and rhythmic vitality as people variously get merry and embark on some energetic hunting. In ‘Winter’ Capuçon and his colleagues again resist the urge to over-pictorialise. The Largo is played with simple grace; Capuçon brings a touch of rubato to his careful walking on ice, and sets off like the clappers when the violent winds arrive.

The two Chevalier de Saint-Georges concertos, suave, gracious and elegantly played, prove good companions for Vivaldi, particularly when Capuçon introduces those turtle doves and goldfinch into the slow movement of the G major. There is plenty of challenging writing, which Capuçon dispatches with unassuming virtuosity. The recording is bright and forward." (Tim Homfray, thestrad)

Renaud Capucon, violin, conductor
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne

Renaud Capuçon
Born in Chambéry in 1976, Renaud Capuçon studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Gérard Poulet and Veda Reynolds. He was awarded first prize for chamber music in 1992 and first prize for violin with a special distinction from the jury in 1993. In 1995 he won the Prize of the Berlin Academy of Arts. Then he studied with Thomas Brandis in Berlin, and later with Isaac Stern. Invited by Claudio Abbado in 1997, he continued his musical experiences as konzertmeister of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester during three summers with Pierre Boulez, Seiji Ozawa, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Moest and of course Claudio Abbado. In 2000 he was nominated “Rising Star” and “New talent of the Year” (French Victoires de la Musique), in 2005 “Soliste instrumental de l’année”, also by the French Victoires de la Musique, and in 2006 “Prix Georges Enesco” (Sacem).

He is playing with: Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Munich Bayerische Rundfunk, DSO Berlin, Bamberger Symphoniker, Hessischer Rundfunk, NDR Hamburg and WDR Köln orchestras, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Phiharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Washington National Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Simon Bolivar Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Lyon, Monte-Carlo, and Toulouse Orchestras, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Moskow Radio Tchaikovsky Orchestra, Danish Royal Orchestra, Swedish Radio Orchestra, London Symphony, Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, City of Birmingham Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Firenze Maggio Musicale Orchestra, Milano Scala Philharmonic, Rome Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Lausanne and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, under Marc Albrecht, Christian Arming, Lionel Bringuier, Semyon Bychkov, Myung-Whun Chung, Jesus Lopez Cobos, Thomas Dausgaard, Christoph von Dohnanyi Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Ivan Fischer, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Gunther Herbig, Kristjan, Paavo and Neeme Järvi, Philippe Jordan, Emmanuel Krivine, Kurt Masur, Ludovic Morlot, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, David Robertson, Dennis Russel-Davis, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Slatkin, Tugan Sokhiev, Robert Ticciati… In 2011 he toured USA with the China Philharmonic and Long Yu, played in China with the Guangzhou and Shanghai Symphonies and Claus Peter Flor and gave integrals of Beethoven Sonatas with F. Braley in Europe, Singapore and Hong-Kong.

Renaud Capuçon plays chamber music with Martha Argerich, Hélène Grimaud, Nicholas Angelich, Frank Braley, Yefim Bronfman, Myung-Whun Chung, Yuri Bashmet, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Mischa Maisky, Truls Mork, Maria Joao Pires, Mikhail Pletnev, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Maxim Vengerov. He is invited by prestigious festivals: London Mostly Mozart, Edinburgh, Berlin, Ludwigsburg, Rheingau, Lucerne, Montreux, Lockenhaus, Verbier, Gstaad, Salzburg, Schwarzenberg, Jerusalem, Stavanger, Canarias, San Sebastian, Aix-en-Provence, Roque d’Anthéron, Menton, Saint-Denis, Strasbourg, Hollywood Bowl, Tanglewood…

Discography for EMI Classics: Mendelssohn and Haydn trios and the Triple Concerto by Beethoven with Martha Argerich, Schubert recital, Berlioz/Saint-Saëns/Milhaud/Ravel with Daniel Harding and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Ravel chamber music with Gautier Capuçon and Frank Braley, duos with his brother; Dutilleux Concerto with the Radio France Philharmonic under Myung-Whun Chung (« Grand Prix Académie Charles Cros », « Choc de la Musique », « Diapason d’Or », « Fonoforum/Sterne des Monates »), Saint-Saëns chamber music, Brahms Trios with Gautier Capuçon and Nicholas Angelich (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik), Schubert Trout, Mendelssohn/Schumann concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Daniel Harding, Brahms Sonatas with Nicholas Angelich (Gramophone/Editor’s Choice-Scherzo/Excepcional-Diapason d’Or-Choc/Monde de la Musique), Brahms Double Concerto with Gautier Capuçon and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (Gramophone/Editor’s Choice) and Brahms Quartets with Gautier, Gérard Caussé and Nicholas Angelich, Mozart Concertos and Sinfonia Concertante with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Louis Langrée and Antoine Tamestit, Beethoven/Korngold concertos with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Beethoven Sonatas for violin/piano with Frank Braley, Fauré chamber music with N. Angelich, G. Capuçon, M. Dalberto, G. Caussé and Ebène Quartet.

Renaud Capuçon plays the Guarneri del Gesù “Panette” (1737) that belonged to Isaac Stern, bought for him by the Banca Svizzera Italiana (BSI). In June 2011 he is appointed “Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite” by the French Government.

Booklet for Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Chevalier de Saint-George Concertos