Victor Julien-Laferrière

Bio

First Prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2017 (the first year dedicated to cello), Victor Julien-Laferrière was described as “one of the most reliable talents of the young generation of French cellists” by Diapason magazine. He was also awarded the first prize and two special prizes at the 2012 Prague Spring International Competition, and in 2018 he was awarded the Victoire de la Musique in France as Instrumental Soloist of the Year.

The 2023/24 season sees him perform with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Simone Lamsma under the baton of Domingo Hindoyan, as well as Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France with Mikko Franck, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Belgium National Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Stuttgart Staadtheater Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre d’Auvergne and Thomas Zehetmair. He will perform recitals and chamber music at Hohenem’s Schubertiade, Philharmonie de Paris and Louisiana Museum. Additionally, he founded his own ensemble Consuelo which collaborates intensively with many leading French festivals, and he will conduct Consuelo at the Theatre des Champs-Elysées, amongst other French festivals and concert halls.

Further afield, Victor Julien-Laferrière has performed with renowned orchestras worldwide, including Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Lyon, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Belgium National Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre Paris, Les Siècles, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, and with prestigious conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Kristiina Poska, Emmanuel Krivine, Tugan Sokhiev, Elim Chan, Maxim Emelyanychev, François-Xavier Roth, Jun Märkl, Philippe Herreweghe, Nathalie Stutzmann, Stéphane Denève, Joshua Weilerstein, Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Gergely Madaras and Ben Glassberg.

His recital and chamber music projects have led him to perform in prestigious venues and festivals such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Wien, Lucerne KKL, Brussels BOZAR, Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, Tonhalle Zurich, Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Essen Philharmonie, Phillips Collection in Washington, Prague Spring International Music Festival, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Rheingau Musik Festival, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, Brussels Cello Festival, Copenhagen Summer Festival, Folles Journées in Nantes and Tokyo.

Victor Julien-Laferrière is also developing substantial activity as a conductor. He has guest-conducted Orchestre National d’Île-de-France and Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen on tour as well as Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, and his ensemble Consuelo.

In addition, he has recorded numerous albums. In January 2019, Victor Julien-Laferrière recorded an album dedicated to Schubert, in collaboration with Les Esprits trio (Sony Music), which received the highest rating from French magazine Télérama. His latest recordings for Alpha Classics include a critically acclaimed album dedicated to Shostakovich, Rachmaninov, and Denisov with pianist Jonas Vitaud (2019), a recording of the Dvořák and Martinů concertos with Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège conducted by Gergely Madaras (2021) and more recently Dutilleux and Dusapin’s cello concertos with the Orchestre National de France conducted by Kristiina Poska and David Robertson, which received the Diapason d’Or.

Victor Julien-Laferrière studied with René Benedetti, then successively with Roland Pidoux at Paris CNSM Conservatoire, Heinrich Schiff at Vienna University, and Clemens Hagen at Salzburg Mozarteum in Salzburg. He also took part in the Seiji Ozawa International Music Academy Switzerland from 2005 to 2011. He plays on a cello by Domenico Montagnana and with a bow by Dominique Peccatt.