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Artist: Renaud Capucon
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Renaud Capucon:

Mozart - The Violin Concertos w/ OCL

Renaud Capuçon’s exciting new Mozart project for Deutsche Grammophon comprises three albums and two STAGE+ performances, all to come before the end of the year. Together they encompass the artist’s multi-faceted career as concerto soloist, chamber musician, artistic director and mentor to outstanding young talent.

Mozart: The Violin Concertos, recorded with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (OCL), of which Capuçon is Artistic Director, is out today! Recorded with three of the emerging artists mentored by Capuçon, Mozart: The Piano Quartets will follow on 10 November, and will inaugurate the Capuçon-DG Beau Soir imprint. The violinist’s trilogy of 2023 Mozart albums will be launched.

Capuçon’s Mozart project gets underway in fine style with the release of Mozart: Sonatas for piano and violin, a 4-CD set recorded with Kit Armstrong in Berlin last October. The sonatas have been central to the duo’s partnership since they made their debut together with the works at the 2016 Salzburg Mozartwoche. Their creative vision brings to life the diverse character and inventive brilliance of compositions that span the breadth of Mozart’s mature career, from the dashing pieces he wrote in his early twenties to the sensational Sonata in A major K 526, written in the summer of 1787.

“Everything works in a completely uncomplicated and natural way,” Renaud Capuçon observes about making music with Kit Armstrong. “To perform these pieces with Kit is to embark on a wonderful musical journey.” In reply, Armstrong says, “When I hear Renaud render Mozart’s lyrical flights with all the sumptuousness and refinement that modern violin playing can have, I am convinced: it is beautiful, and that is what matters.”

Mozart has been at the heart of the OCL’s repertoire since its foundation in 1942, and the orchestra’s extensive discography already includes acclaimed recordings of the composer’s complete piano concertos and serenades and other works. Now Mozart: The Violin Concertos reflects the rapport that Renaud Capuçon and the OCL have developed since the former became the ensemble’s Artistic Director at the start of the 2021-22 season. “Ever since then, it’s been obvious that I should record the five Mozart concertos with them,” recalls Capuçon. “We have a natural musical affinity in this repertoire, and their sound and sense of phrasing are so inspiring. Recording these works together was pure joy.”

Assuming the dual role of soloist and director, Capuçon turned to the subtle musical complexities of the concertos armed with a feeling for their spontaneity and a determination to bring them to life in the moment. Recorded last September at Lausanne’s Théâtre de Beaulieu, the 2-CD album also includes the Rondo in C major K 373 and Adagio in E major K 261.

Capuçon’s final Mozart release of the year, an e-album to appear under the new Beau Soir imprint, reflects his enduring encouragement of exceptional young talent. He is joined by three fast-rising stars – violist Paul Zientara, cellist Stéphanie Huang and pianist Guillaume Bellom – in the Piano Quartet in G minor K 478 and the Piano Quartet in E flat major K 493, a pair of formally intricate, emotionally complex works that date from around the time of Mozart’s operas Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro.