Concert information

Concert given on May 2, 2026 at 8 pm in the Elie de Brignac-Arqana hall in Deauville as part of the 30th edition of the Deauville Easter Festival.

Program

Jean-Sébastien Bach’s Second Suite for solo cello is a work that retains its share of mystery: its exact composition date and original destination are unknown. However, Bach displays a rare genius in it. The instrument manages to sing, harmonize, and dance, especially in minuets of great technical virtuosity.

Jean-Sébastien Bach (1685-1750): Suite for solo cello No. 2 in D minor BWV 1008 (1717-1723)
1. Prelude
2. Allemande
3. Courante
4. Sarabande
5. Menuet I & II
6. Gigue
Edgar Moreau, cello

We are in 1877, a pivotal year for French music. At that time, Gabriel Fauré was a young composer still finding his way. He decided to tackle chamber music for the first time, a genre dominated by German models. The result was the First Sonata for violin and piano, premiered at the National Music Society. The success was overwhelming, even unsettling his mentors. In a letter to his confidante Marie Clerc, Fauré emotionally recounts a confession from his master, Camille Saint-Saëns: he admits feeling tonight “the pain that mothers feel when they see their children are old enough to do without them.” This work marks a form of emancipation and audacity. Far from the soft salon music, Fauré offers a composition of unprecedented magnitude, almost heroic, where the violin and piano dialogue with an energy that anticipates the masterpieces of the late 19th century, like those of César Franck or Debussy.

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): Sonata No. 1 in A major opus 13 for violin and piano (1875-1876)
1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Scherzo. Allegro vivo
4. Finale. Allegro quasi presto
Renaud Capuçon, violin
Bertrand Chamayou, piano

In 1840, just after the premiere of Felix Mendelssohn’s Trio No. 1 in D minor opus 49, Robert Schumann, the most influential critic of his time, lavished praise on it. For him, it was simply the “supreme trio of the era.” It was on this occasion that he gave Mendelssohn the famous nickname “the Mozart of the 19th century.” Why such a comparison? Because, like Mozart, Mendelssohn possessed the genius for clarity and the art of making instruments sing. This is particularly heard in the second movement: the piano plays a melody alone, as a confidence, before the violin and cello join in a duet of remarkable harmony worthy of a grand opera. But what makes this trio special is what Schumann called its “magical freshness.” It is a music of incredible agility, carried by a virtuosity that never weighs down. The most anticipated moment is undoubtedly the Scherzo: a true fairy dance where bows hop and fingers run on the keyboard. It’s like hearing the fantastical creatures of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1837): Trio No. 1 in D minor opus 49 for piano, violin, and cello (1839)
1. Molto allegro ed agitato
2. Andante con moto tranquillo
3. Scherzo: Leggiero e vivace
4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato
Renaud Capuçon, violin
Edgar Moreau, cello
Bertrand Chamayou, piano

Additional Music Program

Camille Saint-Saëns: Trio with piano No. 2 in E minor opus 92
Renaud Capuçon, violin
Edgar Moreau, cello
Bertrand Chamayou, piano

Camille Saint-Saëns: Sonata for cello and piano No. 1 in C minor opus 32: 3. Allegro moderato
Edgar Moreau, cello
Bertrand Chamayou, piano

Technical Team:
Etienne Pipard, sound engineer
Michel Gacic, Virginie Lorda, and Julien Calvas, sound recording