Éric Pénicaud

Pénicaud first gave many classical - and flamenco - performances in private circles, but now he will play in public, in other musical genres (for example in jazz alongside Laurent Petitgirard at the organ of the Américan Center in Paris [fr]).

Pénicaud is part of the "New Music" Composers Group, alongside personalities such as Thierry Escaich, Anthony Girard, Philippe Hersant, Michaël Sebaoun... His work won eight International Prizes for composition from 1984 to 2002: "Carrefour mondial de la guitare" (Martinique, 1984, 1988), Tokyo (1987), Italy (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002).

In 2016, he was awarded the First Prize of Composition "International Art Society", in Volos, Greece; he also received the title "Artist of the Year": he is the only musician selected for this supreme distinction - all categories combined (for example in piano Martha Argerich) was mentioned.

A work of a homogeneous quality that is recognized and praised everywhere, by many composers (Leo Brouwer, Régis Campo, Pascal Dusapin, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Fénelon, Philippe Hersant, Maurice Ohana...), various non-guitar great performers (flautist Pierre-Yves Artaud, percussionist Jean-Pierre Drouet, violists Garth Knox – former member of the Arditti Quartet and the Ensemble Intercontemporain - and Pierre-Henri Xuereb, conductors Daniel Oren, Gilles Colliard...), guitarists and music educators (Julian Bream, Abel Carlevaro, Alberto Ponce, Narciso Yepes...), eminent ambassadors of other musics that he has also played for a long time (Jaco Pastorius, Larry Coryell, Juan Carmona, Egberto Gismonti...), and also - because it goes far beyond that - by poets (Christian Bobin), writers (Erik Orsenna), marine painters (Titouan Lamazou), scientific thinkers (Boris Cyrulnik, Hubert Reeves)...

), the Ensemble Polychronies, or even by Fabio Zanon (Brazil), Yiannis Andronoglou (Greece), Ishiro Suzuki, Shin-Ichi Fukuda, Gen Matsuda (Japan), Marco Tamayo (Cuba), Giulio Tampalini, Alberto Vingiano (Italy), Tatiana Kurenchakova (Russia), etc.