October 20, 2025
Gaïa is Capuçon’s groundbreaking recital featuring world-premiere cello works by 16 contemporary composers, all inspired by the Earth, commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony
Capuçon is joined for this performance by pianist Jérôme Ducros, composers Ayanna Witter-Johnson and Quenton Xavier Blache, and members of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra’s cello section
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA—On Sunday, November 16, cellist Gautier Capuçon brings Gaïa, an ambitious recital program of world-premiere works by 16 contemporary composers, to Davies Symphony Hall as part of the Great Performers Series. Taking its name from the Greek goddess of Earth and mother of all life, Gaïa showcases diverse new works inspired by the Earth by a lineup of innovative contemporary composers including Bryce Dessner, Joe Hisaishi, Missy Mazzoli, Gabriela Montero, Nico Muhly, Max Richter, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, and more. (A full list of composers and their works appears in the listing below.) All of the new works were commissioned for this project by the San Francisco Symphony in collaboration with Capuçon.
Among the new works is Of Wind and Rain, a piece for solo cello and ensemble by Quenton Xavier Blache, who Capuçon anonymously selected for a new commission from a pool of applicants under the umbrella of the 2023 Emerging Black Composers Project. Blache, a cellist himself, will perform his work alongside Capuçon and members of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra cello section.
In addition to Blache, Capuçon is joined for this recital by pianist Jérôme Ducros; composer, cellist, and vocalist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, performing with Capuçon in her world-premiere work, Forever Home; and SF Symphony Youth Orchestra cellists Timothy Huang, Anthony Jung, Melissa Lam, Ethan Lee, Claire Topper, and Cara Wang.
“I am very much looking forward to presenting the music of this album, Gaïa, for the San Francisco audience,” said Capuçon. “This very special and unique project started here at the San Francisco Symphony, and I feel a special connection with the San Francisco audience since my first visit and debut at the Symphony in November 2009. Gaïa is very dear to my heart—collaborating with 16 composers coming from all around the world, with different cultures and musical genres, exploring the music, celebrating the earth, and dedicated to the earth, Gaïa. I also look forward to sharing the stage with my longtime piano partner Jérôme Ducros and the young generation of cellists of the SFSYO! I can’t wait for you to discover this unique musical project.”
The commissioning of the works in this program was made possible through the support of Solomon B. Cera and Toby Fischer Cera, Michèle and Larry Corash, Gail Covington and John Murray, CSC, NSC, Christine and Frank Currie, Jerome Guillen and Jeremy Gallaher, Diane and Harry Greenberg, Deirdre and Chris Hockett, Fred Levin, The Shenson Foundation, Lawrence Maisel and Susan Grant, Patrick McCabe and Andrew MacIlrath, Marla Miller and David Kremer, Patricia Lee-Hoffmann and Steven Hoffmann, Dr. Gladys Monroy and Larry Marks, Camilla Miner Smith, and Linda Wenstrand and Bruce Winterhof.
Erato Records album release of Gaïa, November 7
Capuçon brings this program to the stage mere days after the release of his album Gaïa. The roots of Capuçon’s project grew from San Francisco, where he was scheduled to perform with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony just as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live performances. Inspired by a conversation with his friend and longtime supporter of the arts Michèle Corash, Capuçon envisioned Gaïa unlike any musical project that he had created before: a coalescence of contemporary voices from around the world, a tribute to the beautiful complexities of the Earth. He also drew from his own upbringing in the Savoy region of France, nestled in the pastoral heart of the French Alps and home to rolling landscapes and soaring peaks, including Europe’s tallest summit: Mont Blanc. It was here that his childhood dream to climb this snow-topped mountainside was born, which he fulfilled in a stunning visual masterpiece produced for the opening track of the album, Max Richter’s Sequence for Gaïa, which will be released with the album on November 7.
In anticipation of the album release of Gaïa on November 7, Capuçon and Erato Records have release five singles, including Olivia Belli’s Tàmâr Mĕtūshelāḥ, Bryce Dessner’s Towards the Forest, Jean-Benoît Dunckel’s Wake, Ludovico Einaudi’s Air, and Joe Hisaishi’s Prélude.
Olivia Belli: Tàmâr Mĕtūshelāḥ
YouTube | Spotify
Bryce Dessner: Towards the Forest
YouTube | Spotify
Jean-Benoît Dunckel: Wake
Spotify
Ludovico Einaudi: Air
YouTube | Spotify
Joe Hisaishi: Prélude
Spotify
Gaïa will be released by Erato Records and available on all streaming platforms on November 7.
CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:
Tickets:
Tickets for concerts at Davies Symphony Hall can be purchased via sfsymphony.org or by calling the San Francisco Symphony Box Office at 415.864.6000.
Location:
Davies Symphony Hall is located at 201 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.
GREAT PERFORMERS SERIES
Gautier Capuçon: Gaïa
Sunday, November 16, 2025, at 7:00pm
Gautier Capuçon cello
Quenton Blache cello
Ayanna Witter-Johnson cello and vocals
Jérôme Ducros piano
Members of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra Cello Section
MAX RICHTER Sequence for Gaïa
ARMAND AMAR Boreas
JEAN-BENOÎT DUNCKEL Wake
GABRIELA MONTERO Sur le lac du Bourget
OLIVIA BELLI Tàmâr Mĕtūshelāḥ
MISSY MAZZOLI The Usual Illusion
JOE HISAISHI Prélude pour violoncelle et piano
LUDOVICO EINDAUDI Air
XAVIER FOLEY Ambition
NICO MUHLY Side Piece
BRYCE DESSNER Towards the Light
ABEL SELAOCOE Toro Tsa Kwa
MICHAEL CANITROT Never Say Never
AYANNA WITTER-JOHNSON Forever Home
QUENTON BLACHE Of Wind and Rain
JASMINE BARNES Life in Sunshine
Tickets: $30–129
Ticket link: sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2025-26/GAUTIER-CAPUCON
Please note that the start time of this concert has changed to 7:00pm. This program is presented without intermission.
