Elgar: Violin Concerto & Violin Sonata Renaud Capuçon, Stephen Hough, London Symphony Orchestra & Simon Rattle

• Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934): Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61:
• 1 Elgar: Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61: I. Allegro 18:30
• 2 Elgar: Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61: II. Andante 12:51
• 3 Elgar: Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61: III. Allegro molto 18:55
• 4 Elgar: Violin Sonata in E Minor, Op. 82: I. Allegro 07:41
• 5 Elgar: Violin Sonata in E Minor, Op. 82: II. Romance. Andante 07:36
• 6 Elgar: Violin Sonata in E Minor, Op. 82: III. Allegro non troppo 08:41
• Total Runtime 01:14:14

Info for Elgar: Violin Concerto & Violin Sonata

Elgar’s violin concerto – distinctively passionate and nostalgic – is one of the great late-Romantic concertos. “It is a huge piece,” says Renaud Capuçon “both in terms of its length and its romantic and noble nature.” This is Capuçon’s first recording with Sir Simon Rattle, here conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. When Rattle chose Elgar’s Enigma Variations for his inaugural concert as the LSO’s music director in 2017, he was celebrating the close historic links between the composer and the orchestra. Not only did the LSO accompany Fritz Kreisler in the premiere of the violin concerto in 1910, Elgar became its Principal Conductor the following year. Paired with the concerto on this album is his violin sonata, first performed in 1919. Renaud Capuçon, who calls the sonata “a work of nobility and tenderness”, is joined by one of the leading British pianists of today, Stephen Hough.

Renaud Capucon, violin
Stephen Hough, piano
London Symphony Orchestra
Simon Rattle, conductor

Renaud Capuçon
Since then, Capuçon has established himself as a soloist at the very highest level. He performs with leading orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Vienna Philharmonic (VPO), London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Filarmonica della Scala, Boston Symphony and New York Philharmonic. His many conductor relationships include Gergiev, Barenboim, Bychkov, Dénève, Dohnanyi, Dudamel, Eschenbach, Haitink, Harding, Paavo Järvi, Nelsons, Nézet-Seguin, Roth, Shani, Ticciati, van Zweden and Long Yu. Highlights of the 2018/19 season include performances with the Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre de Paris, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony and a tour of Europe with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

A great commitment to chamber music has led him to collaborations with Argerich, Angelich, Barenboim, Bashmet, Bronfman, Buniatishvili, Grimaud, Hagen, Ma, Pires, Trifonov and Yuja Wang, as well as with his brother, cellist Gautier Capuçon, and have taken him, among others, to the Berlin, Lucerne, Verbier, Aix-en-Provence, Roque d’Anthéron, San Sebastián, Stresa, Salzburg, Edinburgh International and Tanglewood festivals. He is also the Artistic Director of two festivals, the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, since 2016, and the Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence, which he founded in 2013.

He has built an extensive discography and records exclusively with Erato/Warner Classics. Recent releases include a recording of Bartok’s two violin concerti with the LSO / Roth, Brahms and Berg with the VPO / Harding, and chamber music of Debussy. His latest recording, ‘Au Cinema’, featuring much loved selections from film music, releases in October 2018.

In 2017, Capuçon founded a new ensemble, the Lausanne Soloists, comprised of current and former students of the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne, where he has held a professorship since 2014. He plays the Guarneri del Gesù ‘Panette’ (1737), which belonged to Isaac Stern. In June 2011 he was appointed ‘Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite’ and in March 2016 ‘Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur’ by the French Government.

Booklet for Elgar: Violin Concerto & Violin Sonata