Raphaël Feuillâtre

Raphaël Feuillâtre joined the Deutsche Grammophon roster as a guitarist in 2022. Although he feels a particular pull toward Baroque repertoire, his performances cover an extensive range of styles that also embraces contemporary pieces. Born in 1996 in Djibouti in northeastern Africa, he spent his formative years in Cholet in western France; his parents, who had no musical background themselves, noticed his aptitude once they gave him a plastic guitar at age seven. He entered the Conservatoire du Choletais at nine, receiving instruction from Hacène Addadi, and later attended high school in Nantes while continuing lessons with Michel Grizard at the Conservatoire de Nantes. Feuillâtre completed a bachelor’s degree in 2017 and a master’s degree in 2019 at the Conservatoire de Paris, known as CNSMDP, studying under Roland Dyens, Tristan Manoukian, and Judicaël Perroy. After collecting prizes at events in France, Spain, Portugal, and the Czech Republic, he secured a decisive breakthrough by winning the International Concert Artists Competition organized by the Guitar Foundation of America. Before that success he had already released the album Guitar Recital on the independent JSM label, and the victory opened the door to a recording contract with Naxos, whose release appeared in 2019. His concert activity accelerated markedly in the wake of these competition triumphs. Between the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2020 he toured North America, giving recitals and master classes in more than fifty cities, and subsequently extended his travels to Brazil and additional South American countries. He presented Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez on a five-concert series with France’s Orchestral Ensemble of Pau. Festival appearances have taken him to the Folle Journée de Nantes, the International Guitar Festival in Budapest, and the Changsha Guitar Festival in China, among others. Late in 2020, Deutsche Grammophon executive Angelika Meissner watched video of his Guitar Foundation of America performances, leading to his signing with the label two years afterward. In 2023 he issued his debut Deutsche Grammophon album, Visages Baroques. In addition to performing, Feuillâtre teaches at the Music School of Villeneuve-la-Garenne in the Paris area.