For a long time the cello was considered an accompanying instrument. It wasn’t until Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) that the cello finally came into its own in the music world. Indeed, his 6 Suites for cello solo, composed between 1717 and 1723, at a stroke opened up wonderful new perspectives for the instrument. Thenceforth performers had to develop their technique to become veritable virtuosos, as did for example Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco, father of Joseph Clément Ferdinand Barone Dall’Abaco. He was renowned throughout Europe and educated his son attentively. Consequently Joseph Dall’Abaco also became an internationally respected cellist in his turn. In composing his 11 caprices, Joseph Dall’Abaco offered subsequent generations a moving testimony to this period of intense instrumental investigation. The cycle of original pieces he wrote allow us even today to rediscover the technical possibilities of the instrument as well as its immense dramatic potential. Interesting to observe is how the composer circumvents the cello’s harmonic limitations to make it as polyphonic as possible. It is also fascinating to savour the freedom of interpretation he left to the performer. Playing the 11 Caprices by Clément Ferdinand Barone Dall'Abaco on a G. Grancino cello from 1679 that itself went through this fantastic evolution... is powerfully symbolic! An original programme, virtuosic and creative, that promises a unique experience.

During the pandemic, in addition to her many concerts, Estelle Revaz also worked tirelessly to highlight the importance of culture and to pass on the concerns of artists to politicians. Her fight continues in a more formal setting, as she was elected to the Swiss National Council. Estelle Revaz plays a cello by Giovanni Grancino from 1679 with a bow by Jacob Eury from 1825.