Raphaël Pidoux (born 1967) is a contemporary French classical cellist.
Raphaël Pidoux started studying the cello with his father Roland Pidoux. In 1987 he won the First Prize of the Conservatoire de Paris in Philippe Muller's class. He perfected his skills in the University of Indiana with Janos Starker. As a chamber musician, he studied with Menahem Pressler and members of the Amadeus Quartet at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. In 1988, he won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich as well as the third Prize of the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig.
He plays on a 1680 cello by Goffredo Cappa.
Raphaël Pidoux is the cellist of the Trio Wanderer[1] with which he has led an international career playing in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Wigmore Hall of London, the of Munich, the Konzerthaus, Vienna and Konzerthaus Berlin, the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, the Musikverein of Graz, La Scala of Milan.
The Trio Wanderer performed at the Salzbourg, Edimbourg, Montreux, Feldkirch, Schleswig Holstein, Stresa, Osaka festivals, but also at the Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron, in La Folle Journée of Nantes.[2]
The Trio Wanderer played under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin, Christopher Hogwood, Charles Dutoit and James Conlon, with the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, the Nice, Pays de Loire, Montpellier, Teneriffe, and La Coruna orchestras, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Grazer Philharmoniker Orchester, the Stockholm Chamber Orchestra, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, and also along Wolfgang Holzmair, François Leleux, Paul Meyer, Pascal Moraguès, Antoine Tamestit, and others.
The Trio Wanderer won three Victoires de la musique classique in 1997, 2000 and 2009.
Chamber music is an important part of his career. He plays alone or in the company of Christophe Coin and the, Emmanuel Pahud, Raphaël Oleg, the Manfred, Modigliani, Mosaïques quartets, the orchestra Les Siècles led by François-Xavier Roth.
In 2008, Pidoux was one of the co-founders of Les Violoncelles français octet with Emmanuelle Bertrand, Éric-Maria Couturier, Emmanuel Gaugué, Xavier Phillips, Roland Pidoux, Nadine Pierre and François Salque.
Since September 2014, Raphael Pidoux has been teaching at the Conservatoire de Paris where he succeeded Philippe Muller.
He was a member of juries at the Conservatoire de Paris and the Conservatoire national supérieur musique et danse de Lyon, of international juries such as the ARD International Music Competition of Munich (discipline cello and trio with piano), International Competition of Graz (discipline trio with piano).
He has been the guest of Master-classes at the University of Seoul, the Conservatory of Madrid, the Toho University of Tokyo (at the invitation of Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi).
Since 2009, he has been vice-president of the "association Talents & Violoncelles,"[3] whose objective is to lend instruments to young cellists from modest backgrounds. The association brings together luthiers, donors and young virtuosos: it supports both the creation of cellos from the great tradition of French lutherie and the young musicians too often deprived of good instruments. This initiative has been welcomed by the music press.[4]
In 2010, he created the Biennale "VioloncellEnSeine",[5] of which he is the artistic director, organized by the "Association française du Violoncelle". During the 2010 edition, there was an international contest of violin making and archery, a national competition of young cellists for 8/16 years old, open concerts, a colloquium, exhibitions. The second edition took place in 2012. The third edition took place from 12 to 14 December 2014 at the Paris RRC.