REVIEW: The Brilliant Duo of Cellist Jean-Guihen and Pianist Alexandre Tharaud Soars in La Jolla

November 2, 2026

Cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and pianist Alexandre Tharaud made their La Jolla debuts in recital at The Conrad on Friday, and the French musicians acquitted themselves well.

Their sage programming matched their musical prowess: larger works by Francis Poulenc and Johannes Brahms on the first half, and a second half devoted to an intriguing collage of single movements, from familiar tunes such as the Gabriel Fauré “Sicilienne,” Op. 78, and their own arrangements of three Brahms Hungarian Dances to lesser knows gems such as Benjamin Britten’s Dialogo and Presto from his Sonata in C Major, Op. 65, and Alban Berg’s Vier Stücke, Op. 5.

Poulenc’s Suite Française, a sparkling neoclassical suite of traditional French dances, proved an ingratiating opener, featuring the duo’s sleek, gracefully articulated counterpoint, notably in the the two animated “Bransle” movements, and Queyras’ lustrous tone triumphed in the serene “Pavane.”

In Brahms’ Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 38, the composer fused his affinity to Baroque counterpoint and ornamentation with late Romantic harmonic practice. Queyras delivered the composer’s rich emotional subtext, indulging his majestic themes with his warm, glowing sonority. Thaurad subtly modified his more muscular solo piano forays when engaging with the cellist, providing a beautifully balanced ensemble. Since the duo has been performing together for some 30 years, they have surely found that sweet spot of musical collaboration.

Alban Berg’s Vier Stücke were originally written for clarinet and piano, but his teacher and colleague Arnold Schoenberg made the arrangement for solo cello and piano. The duo captured the elegant understatement of Berg’s austere textures and atonal harmonies, as well as his acerbic wit.

Queyras saved his most resplendent tone for Schubert’s gorgeous themes in the “Adagio” from Schubert’s Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano, D. 821, and the duo savored the composer’s introspective dialogue in the slow movement from Claude Debussy’s 1915 Sonata for Cello and Piano.

The dances of Gabriel Fauré and Brahms come from the most confident decades of the musical Romantic era, and Queyras and Tharaud indulged their casual bravura without descending into nostalgia.

The duo’s encore was “Melody” by Borys Lyatoshinsky.