Performances from Yo-Yo Ma and Renaud Capuçon were among the highlights of yesterday’s events in Paris, marking the centenary of the Armistice.

In a ceremony at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe, that included a speech by Emmanuel Macron, Ma played the Sarabande from Bach’s Suite No 5 for Cello in C minor. The Chinese-American cellist then joined Capuçon for a passage from the 2nd movemment of the Violin and Cello Sonata by Ravel, whose music is heavily influenced by his experience of the Great War, in which he participated as a paramedic.

The audience, who had gathered in the pouring rain for the occasion, comprised almost 70 heads of state, including Donald Trump and Angela Merkel.

 

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