PÉNICAUD Éric

Éric Pénicaud (1952), composer, guitarist and improviser. At age 7, brought up from a family of culture (with close relations to Ricardo Viñes, Pablo Casals, Ravel, Fauré, and even the old Brahms…), he began to study the guitar, focusing primarily on classical (courses with Narciso Yepes for example) and flamenco styles. His evolution also later led him to jazz, then to the discovery of what was known back then as «ethnic» music. Perfectioning his art follows with René Bartoli, later on with Leo Brouwer, Abel Carlevaro... and, for flamenco, Manolo Sanlucar. He starts giving concerts, both classical and flamenco. He also often improvised, with jazzmen in the likes of Larry Coryell, Jaco Pastorius, Barre Phillips. At this eclectism will lead him to recenter on composition, for which he is guided at the beginning by his uncle Stéphane Caplain.

His musical intinerary is inseperable the lifestyle he had chosen, far from the urban worldliness, closer to nature, the great open sea. Despite this distancing, his compositional work flourished more and more : he obtained 10 International Prizes – Martinique, Japan, Italy. In 2016 the International Art Society awards him their Artist of the Year title. Éric Pénicaud’s work is played by numerous guitarists, such as Gérard Abiton, Roberto Aussel, Tania Chagnot, Arnaud Dumond, Roland Dyens, Samuelito, the Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet, Gaëlle Solal, Ichi Fukuda, Marco Tamayo, Giulio Tampalini, Fabio Zanon etc. It is studied in conservatories, competitions, during master classes and internships, conferences, in many countries.

A work of homogeneity everywhere recognised and hailed, by a great number of composers (Brouwer, Campo, Dusapin, Escaich, Fénelon, Hersant, Ohana...), guitarists and pedagogues (J. Bream, A. Carlevaro, A. Ponce...), prominent ambassadors of other music styles who he has also practiced extensively with (J. Pastorius, L. Coryell, J. Carmona, E. Gismonti...), and many non-guitar instrumentalists.

His work aims to liberate the guitar of its musical restraints which it often remains captive of, thus ensuring its presence in the heart of the music of today and tomorrow. He also seeks to promote the integration of the guitar in chamber music (he has written for over thirty more instruments), and to orchestral (Concerto) or vocal music (mixed choir). His works are engraved on six CDs prefaced by Leo Brouwer, Larry Coryell, Arnaud Dumond, Alberto Ponce. The french critics (Diapason, le Monde de la Musique, Classica-Répertoire, Les Cahiers de la Guitare, Guitar Classique...) and international critics (Classical Guitar, U.K. / Gendai Guitar, Japan / Guitar Review, USA / Seicorde, Italy...) have reserved these discs a praised welcome.

He has been invited to be in the jury of international competitions (for example, René Bartoli, Carpentras, Alessandria, Antony).

He presently lives on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea (shared for many years with a lost sector of North Martinique, where also lived Gauguin for a certain period of time...). If the Productions d’Oz are included, Éric Pénicaud has published to date around fifty pieces in several major publishers (France, Germany, Argentina, Belarus, Italy and Japan...).