Gautier Capuçon
with the
Opera Orchester

A demanding cello favourite 

A French favourite and a piece that allows the cello to shine with dramatic, technical and passionate harmonies: that is what Saint-Saëns' cello concerto no. 1 means to Gautier Capuçon.  

The cellist Capuçon is no run-of-the-mill performer but is renowned for his expressive and exuberant virtuosity – and for the deep tone that only a 300-year-old cello crafted over 300 years ago by master luthier Matteo Goffriller can produce. 

French music in the making 

Camille Saint-Saëns composed his first cello concerto during a time when he saw it as his mission to help define the identity of French music. Composing it for the cello was not an obvious choice, as mid-19th-century concertos were most often written for violin or piano. He also broke with classical conventions by not separating the work’s three movements, but instead letting them flow seamlessly into one another.  

The concerto was an enormous success after its premiere in Paris in 1873 and has remained a core piece in the repertoires of the world’s greatest cellists for over 150 years.  

German Romanticism with the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra 

Where Camille Saint-Saëns sought to move away from Wagner and Germany, Anton Bruckner wanted to build on the legacy of the German masters. The symphony the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra brings to the Main Stage this evening, Symphony No. 4 from 1881, was Bruckner's first major symphonic success and gives a nod to Beethoven, Weber and Wagner.  

Bruckner subtitled the work ‘Romantic’, and after the premiere, the four traditional movements Allegro-Andante-Scherzo-Finale were described by the composer as follows:  

Medieval city — Daybreak — Morning calls sound from the city towers — the gates open — On proud horses the knights burst out into the open, the magic of nature envelops them — forest murmurs — bird song — and so the Romantic picture develops further. 

Programme 
 
Paul Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice  

Camille Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto no. 1, op. 33 
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major, WAB 104 
 
Performers: Gautier Capuçon cello, 
Edward Gardner conductor 
Norwegian National Opera Orchestra

Program

Paul Dukas The Sorcerer's Apprentice 
Camille Saint-Saëns Cellokonsert nr. 1, op. 33 
Anton Bruckner Symfoni nr. 4 i Ess-dur, WAB 104

Medvirkende

Gautier Capuçon cello
Edward Gardner dirigent
Operaorkestret