Victor Julien-Laferrière
First Prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2017, the first edition dedicated to the cello, Victor Julien-Laferrière has established himself as one of the leading cellists of his generation while developing an increasingly prominent career as a conductor. His distinctions also include First Prize and two Special Prizes at the 2012 Prague Spring International Competition and the 2018 Victoire de la Musique in France as Instrumental Soloist of the Year.
Highlights of the 2026/27 season include an appearance at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, performances of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Orchestre National de Lille and Jonathan Nott, and further collaborations with Lionel Bringuier and the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège and Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice. He also continues his relationship with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra in a touring play-conduct project and appears at major international gatherings including the Amsterdam Cello Biennale, Taiwan International Cello Festival and Brussels Cello Festival.

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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.
Contacts
Margaux Roubichou Artist Relationship Manager François Guyard Senior Director, General Manager HarrisonParrott Paris
worldwide general management
Margaux Roubichou Artist Relationship Manager François Guyard Senior Director, General Manager HarrisonParrott Paris
worldwide general management
François Guyard Senior Director, General Manager HarrisonParrott Paris
worldwide general management
Season Highlights
Concertgebouw Amsterdam
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ROBERT SCHUMANN: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3 in A major, Op. 69
ROBERT SCHUMANN: Three Romances, Op. 94
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38
Tous pour la musique
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ROBERT SCHUMANN: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3 in A major, Op. 69
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38
Auditorium de Radio France
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JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Suite No. 2 for Cello Solo in D minor, BWV 1008
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Suite No. 4 for Cello Solo in E-flat major, BWV 1010
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Suite No. 5 for Cello Solo in C minor, BWV 1011
Jenaer Philharmonie
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HENRI DUTILLEUX: Concerto for cello and orchestra “Tout un monde lointain”
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Cite de la Musique Soissons
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Solsberg Festival
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Festival International de Colmar
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Festival Pablo Casals de Prades
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FRANZ SCHUBERT: Notturno in E-flat major, Op. 148, D897
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio No. 5 in D major, Op. 70/1 (Geistertrio)
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8
MAURICE RAVEL: Piano Trio in A minor
“Dvořák contains multitudes, and the combination of Julien-Laferrière’s eloquent, focused tone with transparent orchestral playing often extremely beautifully.”
“The winning cellist of the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Competition, whose talent we have often praised, once again seduces by the elegance of his style and his immaculate technique.”
“The symbiosis of Victor Julien-Laferrière with the orchestra makes expressiveness triumph.”
“Victor Julien-Laferrière shows that it is by no means just the middle register that works well on his cello. Its tone is very vocal, its vibrato swings out far, and if it never squeaks or buzzes ugly, its playing is extremely colorful and intense. (…) Victor Julien-Laferrière not only sings on his cello, he also audibly enjoys the virtuoso passages. However, Dvořák did not allow the cellist a cadenza. Bohuslav Martinů, however, opens this stage to the soloist in his first cello concerto.”
“In these two masterpieces, the winner of the first Queen Elisabeth competition dedicated to the cello (2017) displays the qualities that earned him his first prize: warm, luminous and pure tones, clarity of play, elegance.”
“Victor Julien-Laferrière, one of the most reliable talents of the young generation of French cellists. […] The duet works wonderfully in this tribute to the Russian soul.”
“This cellist plays with great clarity, avoiding unnecessary affectation, supported by a partner whose tonal conception is as effortless as it is stylistically mature.”
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