Performer: Camille Berthollet, Julie Berthollet, Thomas Dutronc, Guillaume Vincent
Orchestra: Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo
Conductor: Julien Masmondet
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Warner
Catalogue: 9029593810
Release: 2016
Size: 755 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Brahms: 21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1: No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor (Arr. Bouchard)
02. Khachaturian: Gayaneh, Act 4: Sabre Dance (Arr. Walter)
03. Jenkins: Palladio: I. Allegretto
04. Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 2: Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Arr. Kreisler)
05. Rimsky-Korsakov: The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Act III: The Flight of the Bumblebee (Orch. Sándor)
06. Schubert: Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, D. 929: II. Andante con moto
07. trad.: Les yeux noirs (Arr. Lehn)
08. Dvořák: Rondo in G minor for cello & piano, Op. 94, B. 171
09. Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20
10. Tchaikovsky: 6 Pieces, Op. 51: No. 6 Valse sentimentale
11. Paganini: 24 Caprices, Op. 1: No. 24 in A Minor (Arr. Milone)
12. Tchaikovsky: Pezzo capriccioso, Op. 62
13. Schubert: Ave Maria, D839
14. Abreu: Tico-Tico no fubá (Arr. Suba)
15. Gershwin: Porgy and Bess, Act 1: Summertime (Arr. Berthollet & Vincent)
16. Schubert: Ständchen ‘Leise flehen meine Lieder’, D957 No. 4
17. Rodríguez: La cumparsita
This debut recital by teenage sisters Camille and Julie Berthollet (Camille plays both violin and cello, Julie the violin) consists of light music, but has an exuberant, fearless quality that suggests deeper things to come. The sisters arrange the program in the manner of a 19th century concert for the general public, with an orchestra trading tracks with a piano in the accompanist slot and a gleeful mix of familiar tunes, ethnic dances, folk-like melodies (here extended forward to Gershwin, whose Summertime gets a highly novel treatment), and movements of serious trios by Schubert, gorgeously played. This would all be enough in itself, but the real fun comes from the constantly shifting roles of the solo violins and cello, variously deployed in arrangements that have in some cases been around for a while (the Gluck tune appears in a setting by Fritz Kreisler), but have never been put together in quite this way. Sample the Paganini Caprice No. 24 and enjoy the deconstruction of Paganini’s solo violin work into material for two violins and orchestra. The cleverness with which the whole program is put together belies the lightness of the material, and these are definitely young musicians to watch. Highly recommended.
Meet the Berthollet sisters, two extraordinarily gifted musical siblings from the idyllic Rhône-Alpes region in France. Camille (17) plays violin and cello and Julie (19) violin and viola. They became celebrities in France when the then 15-year-old Camille won Prodiges, a TV show for classical virtuosos under the age of 16. After captivating 4.5 million viewers on the France 2 network with her searing rendition of ‘Summer’ from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Camille was immediately signed to Warner Classics, her debut album (featuring her older sister as duo partner) going on to achieve Gold status with more than 80,000 copies sold in France alone.
On their second album together, with the support of the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the sibling sensations reveal the poise, maturity and musical prowess they have continued to develop since Prodiges, confirming their talent goes far beyond the TV phenomenon that launched their bright careers.
“Recording my debut album at the age of sixteen was an out-of-the-ordinary experience, the stuff of dreams,” says Camille. “The Prodiges verdict hasn’t changed my life but it has opened wonderful doors to me, the most marvellous one being contacted by the president of Warner Classics. They gave me the opportunity to record my first album and choose my ideal programme. I also had the great fortune to meet Gautier Capuçon and to play with him.”
French star cellist Gautier Capuçon, became something of a mentor to Camille as one of the esteemed music personalities on the judging panel of Prodiges, and recorded Piazzolla’s Oblivion with her on the debut album. “You can sense in her such a passion, she is really inside the music… She is so young but she already has this internal spark and this energy,” he said of his protégée.
But there is one musician who has been at Camille’s side since the very beginning. “I’m very lucky to always have my sister Julie with me, and naturally I wanted to record this album with her!” she enthuses. “We’ve been playing together since I started cello at the age of four. She is the violinist I can always lean on; we learn so much from each other. We’re lucky to have parents that always supported us and encouraged us in our choices.”