Raphaël Pichon

Raphaël Pichon, born in 1984, is one of the leading figures of the younger generation in early and Baroque music. He trained in violin, piano and voice at the Paris conservatoires and sang professionally under Jordi Savall, Gustav Leonhardt and Ton Koopman before founding his own choir and period-instrument orchestra, Pygmalion, in 2006. With Pygmalion he has won international acclaim for vividly dramatic, scrupulously researched performances of Bach, the late tragédies lyriques of Rameau, Mozart, and increasingly the Romantic repertoire. Known for the theatrical flair and expressive intensity he brings to historically informed performance, he makes his Concertgebouw Orchestra debut with a programme of French Baroque opera that is his special territory, bringing period-style drama and colour to a great modern orchestra.