When a record label as storied as Deutsche Grammophon signs a classical guitarist — something it had not done in many years — the wider music world takes notice. The player who earned that distinction is Raphaël Feuillâtre, and the recognition is fully deserved: his Bach has a clarity of line and a sense of architecture that recall a harpsichordist as much as a guitarist, and his playing carries a quiet, unforced refinement.
From a plastic guitar to the Conservatoire
Feuillâtre was born in 1996 in Djibouti and grew up in the small western-French city of Cholet. His parents were not musicians, but they noticed his fascination after he was handed a toy plastic guitar at seven. Two years later he enrolled at the Cholet Conservatoire, taking his first lessons with Hacène Addadi. He went on to study at the Conservatoire de Nantes with Michel Grizard — whom he credits with the decision to turn professional — and then at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique in Paris, where his teachers included Roland Dyens and Tristan Manoukian.
The wins that opened the door
His rise was marked by two decisive victories. In 2017 he took first prize at the José Tomás Villa de Petrer International Competition in Spain, and in 2018 came the breakthrough: first prize at the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) International Concert Artist Competition, one of the most coveted titles in the guitar world.
The Yellow Label
It was a video of that winning GFA performance that caught the attention of Deutsche Grammophon, whose senior A&R director had found him online. At twenty-six, Feuillâtre signed to the famous Yellow Label, becoming the first guitarist in many years to join its roster — and giving the instrument a place on one of the most prestigious stages in recorded classical music.
Visages baroques
His DG debut, Visages baroques, arrived in March 2023 and tells you a great deal about the kind of musician he is. Rather than reach for the obvious guitar warhorses, he built the album around keyboard music of the French and German baroque — Bach, Rameau, Duphly, Royer and Forqueray, together with a Scarlatti sonata — much of it transcribed by Feuillâtre himself. It is a programme that asks the guitar to imitate the harpsichord's articulation and the ornament-rich phrasing of the period, and it suits him perfectly.
A harpsichordist's clarity
That, in the end, is the signature of his playing: a transparency of texture in which every voice of a contrapuntal line stays audible, paired with a sense of rhythmic poise that never sounds rushed. He treats ornaments not as decoration but as part of the argument, and he draws a refined, slightly cool, beautifully even tone from the instrument. It is playing of real intellect, and it has made him one of the most closely watched guitarists of his generation.
FAQ
Where is Raphaël Feuillâtre from?
He was born in Djibouti in 1996 and grew up in Cholet, in western France.
Why is he significant?
He became the first guitarist in many years to sign with Deutsche Grammophon, after winning the GFA competition in 2018.
Who were his teachers?
Among them Hacène Addadi, Michel Grizard, and — in Paris — Roland Dyens and Tristan Manoukian.
