Simone Young & Gautier Capuçon
April 17, 18 & 19, 2026
Overview
Internationally renowned Wagner interpreter Simone Young returns to the San Francisco Symphony to conduct a can’t-miss symphonic synopsis of Wagner’s massive Ring cycle, featuring her own selection of orchestral excerpts. In her serenely invigorating orchestral piece The Space Between Stars, Sydney-based composer Ella Macens “wanted to convey the energy and magic of our night sky.” Set in a single searing movement, Saint-Saens’s Cello Concerto No. 1 is bursting with sonic surprises—a music-box minuet here, a sudden silence there—as well as the requisite solo pyrotechnics, taken here by the acclaimed French cellist Gautier Capuçon.Concert Extras
A preconcert talk will be presented from the stage one hour before the concert. Free to all ticketholders.
Program
Ella
Macens
The Space Between Stars
First SF Symphony Performances
Camille
Saint-Saëns
Cello Concerto No. 1
Richard
Wagner
Selections from The Ring of the Nibelung
(edition by Simone Young)
San Francisco Symphony
Simone Young, conductor
Gautier Capuçon
Cello
Gautier Capuçon is one of the foremost cello ambassadors in the 21st century. Performing worldwide with leading conductors and instrumentalists, he also created the Fondation Gautier Capuçon in 2022, dedicated to supporting outstanding young musicians.
Recent orchestral highlights include performances with the Vienna Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as tours with the Filarmonica della Scala Milan, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic.
Capuçon recently toured Europe with Evgeny Kissin, concluding with a performance at Carnegie Hall. He also embarked on a separate tour with Rudolf Buchbinder, Renaud Capuçon, and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider. His chamber music partners have included Nicholas Angelich, Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Frank Braley, Jérôme Ducros, Daniil Trifonov, Yuja Wang, Renaud Capuçon, Augustin Hadelich, Leonidas Kavakos, Nikolaj Szeps- Znaider, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Menahem Pressler, and the Artemis, Ébène, Hagen, and Modigliani Quartets.
In the 2025–26 season, Capuçon tours with the Berlin Philharmonic and serves as artist in residence with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. Further orchestral engagements during the season include appearances with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, as well as concerts across Asia.
An exclusive recording artist for Erato (Warner Music), Capuçon has a rich discography that has earned numerous awards. Following Intuition, his 2020 release Émotions reached gold status in France, topping the charts for over 30 weeks. His next album, Sensations (2022), became the first classical recording to reach No. 1 in France’ s all-genre charts, followed by Destination Paris (2023). Prior to Gaïa, his most recent release featured Elgar and Walton concertos with the London Symphony.
Capuçon made his San Francisco Symphony debut in November 2009 as a Shenson Young Artist, and returns next April for Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto.
Recent orchestral highlights include performances with the Vienna Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as tours with the Filarmonica della Scala Milan, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic.
Capuçon recently toured Europe with Evgeny Kissin, concluding with a performance at Carnegie Hall. He also embarked on a separate tour with Rudolf Buchbinder, Renaud Capuçon, and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider. His chamber music partners have included Nicholas Angelich, Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Frank Braley, Jérôme Ducros, Daniil Trifonov, Yuja Wang, Renaud Capuçon, Augustin Hadelich, Leonidas Kavakos, Nikolaj Szeps- Znaider, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Menahem Pressler, and the Artemis, Ébène, Hagen, and Modigliani Quartets.
In the 2025–26 season, Capuçon tours with the Berlin Philharmonic and serves as artist in residence with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. Further orchestral engagements during the season include appearances with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, as well as concerts across Asia.
An exclusive recording artist for Erato (Warner Music), Capuçon has a rich discography that has earned numerous awards. Following Intuition, his 2020 release Émotions reached gold status in France, topping the charts for over 30 weeks. His next album, Sensations (2022), became the first classical recording to reach No. 1 in France’ s all-genre charts, followed by Destination Paris (2023). Prior to Gaïa, his most recent release featured Elgar and Walton concertos with the London Symphony.
Capuçon made his San Francisco Symphony debut in November 2009 as a Shenson Young Artist, and returns next April for Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto.
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