Edgar Moreau / Les Forces Majeures / Raphaël Merlin OFFENBACH - GULDA Cello Concertos

Edgar Moreau performs two cello concertos which bravely and wittily challenge convention. Offenbach’s ambitious Grand Concerto in G major culminates in military fireworks, while Friedrich Gulda’s Concerto for Cello, Wind Orchestra and Band – written 130 years later – is a dazzling stylistic kaleidoscope. Moreau is joined by conductor Raphaël Merlin and the dynamic orchestral collective Les Forces Majeures.

Karine Deshayes / Les Forces Majeures / Raphaël Merlin ROSSINI

The French mezzo-soprano, Karine Deshayes, obtained a degree in Literature and Music at the Paris Sorbonne University. She then studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (Paris) with Mireille Alcantara. She has explored the baroque repertoire with specialists such as Emmanuelle Haïm, Christophe Rousset, William Christie, Il Seminario Musicale and Les Paladins.

Karine Deshayes was awarded first prize at the "Voix d'Or" 2001 and the "Voix Nouvelles" 2002 competitions. She was also nominated for the "discovery of the year" in the "Artiste Lyrique" category at the "Victoires de la Musique Classique " 2002. Karine Deshayes is sponsored by The Singer's Development Foundation.

 Karine Deshayes is one of the greatest Rossini singers on the international opera stage. In this first solo album, featuring excerpts from some of his most beautiful works, she traces the different stages in Rossini's life. She is accompanied by Raphaël Merlin (cellist of the Ébène Quartet) at the head of Les Forces Majeures, a collective bringing together musicians from prestigious chamber ensembles and top-flight orchestras.