Boléro, composed by Maurice Ravel in 1928, has always captured the world’s attention. Repetitive, mesmeric, colourful and thrilling, it has also proved a seminal work, influencing composers over the past century. Now it lends its name to a film inspired by the life of Ravel: directed by Anne Fontaine and starring Raphaël Personnaz.

Well-known lean-back repertoire from popular film melodies to French chansons to classical pieces – including “La Foule” by Édith Piaf, the main theme from Summer of '42 by Michel Legrand, “Beau soir” by Debussy, Sicilienne by Fauré, and “Chi Mai” by Ennio Morricon. Recorded with pianist Jérôme Ducros, the Maîtrise de Radio France, and the Orchestre de chambre de Paris under conductor Lionel Bringuier.Jean Jacques Goldman, one of France’s most popular songwriters and composers, wrote a new song for this album, “Pense à nous”, for cello, children's choir and orchestra and made a special arrangement of his “Envole-moi”.

The nearly uninterrupted string of strong, successful albums produced by cellist Gautier Capuçon (and indeed his violinist brother, Renaud) demonstrates that the CD debut Face à Face was not just a fluke produced by child prodigies. Rather, Face à Face was a springboard for what has proven to be an enduring career and ever-improving musicianship. On this latest album without his brother, Gautier collaborates with pianist Gabriela Montero on the cello sonatas of Rachmaninov and Prokofiev. Fans of Capuçon's playing will recall that he had previously released a recording of the Rachmaninov sonata with pianist Lilya Zilberstein on the EMI label in 2003. While it may seem questionable to make duplicate recordings when he has recorded so little of the cello repertoire, it offers listeners an opportunity to see how his playing continues to mature even over a short span of five years. While some of the tempos are a little different than the 2003 recording, the most notable difference is that of sound, which has developed impressively with the help of his magnificent 1701 Gofriller cello. His command of sound is most obvious in the solo opening of the Prokofiev sonata.