Romain Guyot

In 1996, Romain Guyot - the first to be nominated - won the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, a distinction which has taken him throughout the United States and Japan as a soloist and in recital. Romain Guyot is one of the world's leading clarinettists. “His dreamy sound, his phrasing linked by an immense breath, and his Belcanist articulation place him alongside the greatest performers”. Le Monde.

At the age of 16, Romain Guyot was chosen for 3 years to be principal clarinet of the European Union Youth Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he obtained 2 first prizes in clarinet and chamber music.

At the age of 22, he was appointed principal clarinet of the Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Paris. He remained there for 10 years, and just after leaving this position, Claudio Abbado and Daniel Harding asked him to become principal clarinet of the Malher Chamber Orchestra, where he remained from 2003 to 2006.

In January 2008, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE) chose him as their new principal clarinettist. As a soloist, Romain Guyot has performed throughout Europe, Japan, Korea, South America and the United States. With orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Tokyo Mozart Players, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Ulster BBC Orchestra... in the most important concert halls, including New York (92nd Street Y and Alice Tully Hall) - Washington (Kennedy Center and Library of Congress) - Tokyo (Suntory Hall) - Seoul (Arts Center) - Amsterdam (Concertgebouw) - Berlin (Philharmonie) - Dublin (National Concert Hall) - Belfast (Waterfront Hall and Ulster Hall) - Moscow (Conservatory and Pushkin Museum) - St Petersburg (Philharmonie)...

Passionate about chamber music, he plays with eminent artists such as pianists : Myung-Wung Chung, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, François-Frédéric Guy, Christian Ivaldi, Roger Muraro, Momo Kodama, Emmanuel Strosser, Alexandre Tharaud; violinists : Isabelle Faust, Ilia Gringolts, Gordan Nikolich, Régis Pasquier; cellists: Marc Coppey, Xavier Philipps, Jean-Guihen Queyras; string quartets: Artis, Lindsay, Parisii, Sine Nomine, Vanbrugh, Ysaye... He was a member of the Claude Debussy Wind Quintet, with which he won the Tokyo and Münich (ARD) competitions, and is a member of the Paris-Bastille wind ensemble with François Leleux (oboe), Laurent Lefèvre (bassoon) and Hervé Joulain (horn). Romain Guyot has premiered works by N. Bacri, M.A. Dalbavie, P. Hersant, J.C. Marti and P. Leroux. Marti and P. Leroux, and has recorded a dozen works for the Harmonia-Mundi, EMI and Naïve labels. A sports and mountain enthusiast, Romain Guyot is a marathon runner, mountain biker, swimmer, fencer, skier and mountaineer!

In September 2004, he climbed Mont Blanc with his Green Line clarinet to give a recital... the highest in the world! A physical and technical feat unique in the world of music. To mark the 10th anniversary of the Green Line material, Buffet Crampon organized this anniversary concert and took up a new challenge: to make the clarinet heard even higher... from the summit of Mont Blanc... on the roof of Europe! This adventure, supervised by mountain guides Gilles Burdin and Thierry Olivier, and by Philippe Leconte (Public and Artistic Relations at Buffet Crampon), was filmed by Bruno Peyronnet, from the preparations to the concert at the summit (DVD “Concerto pour mitaines” available from Buffet Crampon).

Green Line material (95% ebony powder and 5% carbon fiber) has the look and feel of natural wood, and owes its success to its acoustic qualities, identical to ebony, and its resistance to temperature variations (thermal shock).

Romain Guyot is artistic advisor to Buffet Crampon and Rico International. He plays Tosca Green Line clarinets (Bb and A).