TRIBUTE TO PABLO CASALS
WITH CAMILLE THOMAS, CELLO,
AND JULIEN BROCAL, PIANO
SALomon series - April 16, 2023
2:00pm at town hall
virtual CONCERT RELEASED on april 17
Program:
A Tribute To Two Giants of The Cello: Casals & Franchomme
Deutsche Grammophon cello star Camille Thomas and pianist Julien Brocal pay tribute to two major figures of her instrument - Pablo Casals and Auguste Franchomme - for whom Chopin wrote one of a handful of works not for the piano. What makes her beautifully lyrical program even more special is that she will play it on the Feuermann Stradivarius, the very instrument on which Franchomme once played. DG will release Ms. Thomas’ new Chopin Project recording this Spring.
Read Camille Thomas’ fascinating program note about Chopin, Franchomme, and the record project here.
Casals/ Catalan Folk Song: Song of the Birds (arr. S. Isserlis)
Chopin: Prelude in e minor, Op. 28, No. 4 (arr. by C.Thomas)
Franchomme: Nocturne in e minor, Op. 14, No. 1
Chopin (arr. Franchomme): Prelude Op. 28, No. 15
Chopin: Cello Sonata, Op. 65
~ intermission ~
Bach: Air on a G string (arr. for cello and piano)
Chopin: Nocturne in b minor, op. posth. (arr. Mischa Maisky)
Franchomme: Air Russe Varie, Op. 32
Popper: Hungarian Rhapsody
Artists:
Camille Thomas, cello
Julien Brocal, piano
BIOs:
The first cellist signed by Deutsche Grammophon in over 40 years, Camille Thomas blends a brilliant command of her instrument with a rare musicality to offer truly memorable concerto and recital appearances. Her first DG recording Saint-Saens, Offenbach vividly illustrates the reasons for DG's historic signing, as well as delighting her growing number of enthusiastic fans the world over. Camille's special talent was recognized at the European Broadcasting Union Competition, where she was awarded the 1st prize and named “New Talent of the Year 2014”.
Whether she is playing Elgar, Saint-Saens, Dvorak, Lalo, Haydn, Schumann, some neglected works that she champions, or the new concerto Fazil Say wrote for her, Never Give Up, which she premiered in Paris, you can be sure of a passionate and compelling performance. Her fascinating recital programs offer traditional repertoire, themes, and collaborations with composer/pianists - all conceived to stimulate the audience as well as the artist. Camille has won numerous prizes at national and international competitions, including the Seventh Antonio Janigro International Competition in Croatia, the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Strings Competition, the Edmont Baert Competition, the Léopold Bellan Competition, and was chosen for Forbes’ prestigious “30 under 30” list.
Recent and upcoming international appearances include her debut in Japan with Ryusuke Numarjiri and the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, and concertos with Paavo Järvi in Bremen, at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, with the Lucerne Festival Strings in Munich, and at the fantastic Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. In recital and chamber music, she performs at prestigious venues and festivals all around Europe, collaborating with top artists from both sides of the ocean.
Born in 1987 in Arles, France, Julien Brocal began learning the piano at the age of five. He was taught by Erik Berchot and Rena Shereshevskaya at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot and in 2013 began working with Maria João Pires at the Cité de la Musique in Paris. She subsequently invited him to continue his studies at the Queen Elisabeth Musical Chapel in Belgium and to be one of the founding members of the Partitura Project.
Maria and Julien have performed together all over the world, with performances at the Chopin Festival (Warsaw), Auditorium Teatro dell’Opera di Firenze (Florence), Sheldonian Theatre (Oxford), Severance Hall (Cleveland) and Tippet Rise Art Centre (Montana). In addition, they have also given many workshops together and launched educational and social programs for children (including Equinox). Highlights of Julien’s 17/18 season include recitals at the Festival Classique au Vert, Piano aux Jacobins and the Philharmonie de Paris.
Julien is now resident in Belgais, at the Centre for Arts created by Maria, and his first solo recording (of works by Chopin) was released in January 2017 by Rubicon Classics. The recording was received with critical acclaim by the international press, notably BBC Music Magazine which called it “Spellbinding Chopin”, gave it 5 stars and featured it as its ‘Instrumental Choice’ album of the month. Julien’s next album will be released in 2018, again on Rubicon Classics, and feature works by Ravel and Mompou.