Victor Julien-Laferrière

Victor Julien Laferrière won First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2017, during the first edition dedicated to the cello. Earlier, he received First Prize and two special prizes at the 2012 Prague Spring International Competition. In 2018, he was awarded the Victoire de la Musique in France as “Instrumental Soloist of the Year”.

He began the cello with René Benedetti, then studied with Roland Pidoux at the Paris Conservatoire, Heinrich Schiff at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and Clemens Hagen at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. From 2005 to 2011, he also took part in the Seiji Ozawa International Music Academy Switzerland.

As a soloist, Victor Julien Laferrière performs with leading orchestras across Europe and beyond, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Brussels Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and he regularly appears with orchestras in Dublin, Milan, the Netherlands, Russia, and Colombia. He has collaborated with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Emmanuel Krivine, Nathalie Stutzmann, Tugan Sokhiev, and Stéphane Denève.

He is equally active in recital and chamber music, with engagements at major venues including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Philharmonie de Paris, Zurich Tonhalle, KKL Lucerne, the Théâtre des Champs Élysées, and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, as well as festivals such as Prague Spring, Kuhmo, Gstaad, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Rheingau Musik Festival, the Klavier Festival Ruhr, and La Folle Journée in Nantes and Tokyo.

His recordings have received numerous distinctions, including the Diapason d’or 2017 for his sonata album with pianist Adam Laloum. In 2019, he released a Schubert album with Trio Les Esprits on Sony Music, and further recordings include a collaboration with pianist Jonas Vitaud for Alpha Classics. Since 2020, Victor Julien Laferrière has been playing a Domenico Montagnana cello, owned by Xavier and Joséphine Moreno.