As a cellist, Julien-Laferrière has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Brussels Philharmonic, Belgian National Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música.
He has collaborated with conductors including Tugan Sokhiev, Mikko Franck, Karina Canellakis, Nathalie Stutzmann, Stéphane Denève, François-Xavier Roth, Philippe Herreweghe, Elim Chan, Maxim Emelyanychev, Vasily Petrenko, Kirill Karabits, Kristiina Poska, Joshua Weilerstein and Lionel Bringuier, among many others.
Alongside his career as a cellist, conducting has become an essential part of Julien-Laferrière’s artistic life. He has guest-conducted the Wiener KammerOrchester, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France and Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen, among others. In 2021, he founded Orchestre Consuelo, bringing together leading chamber musicians, soloists and orchestral players around a shared approach to the symphonic repertoire. Under his direction, the ensemble has appeared at the Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, La Folle Journée de Nantes, Festival de La Chaise-Dieu, Festival de La Roque d’Anthéron and Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, and has collaborated with soloists including Renaud Capuçon, Steven Isserlis, Alexandre Kantorow, David Fray and Nelson Goerner.
His recital and chamber music career has taken him to major venues and festivals across Europe and beyond, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Wien, KKL Luzern, BOZAR Brussels, Tonhalle Zürich, Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Fondation Louis Vuitton and the Phillips Collection in Washington, as well as the Prague Spring International Music Festival, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Rheingau Musik Festival, Schubertiade, Festival International de Piano de La Roque d’Anthéron, Festival Ravel and La Folle Journée in Nantes and Tokyo.
Julien-Laferrière’s discography reflects the breadth of his work as both cellist and conductor. His recordings for Alpha Classics include concertos by Dvořák and Martinů with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège and Gergely Madaras, and an album pairing the cello concertos of Dutilleux and Dusapin with the Orchestre National de France, awarded a Diapason d’Or. His chamber music recordings include works by Shostakovich, Rachmaninov, Denisov, Schubert and Schumann. As conductor of Orchestre Consuelo, he has recorded Brahms’s Serenades for Mirare and embarked on a complete live cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies for b·records.
Victor Julien-Laferrière studied with René Benedetti and Roland Pidoux in Paris, Heinrich Schiff in Vienna and Clemens Hagen at the Mozarteum Salzburg. He also participated in the Seiji Ozawa International Music Academy Switzerland from 2005 to 2011.
He performs on a cello by Domenico Montagnana with a bow by Dominique Peccatte.
