In 2006, he founded Pygmalion, a choir and orchestra performing on period instruments, which quickly distinguished itself through the originality of its projects. Bach’s Missae Breves, the later versions of Rameau’s great tragédies lyriques, and the exploration of rare works by Mozart are among the programmes that have shaped Pygmalion’s identity, through an approach focused on the fusion of choir and orchestra, as well as a dramaturgical dimension to concert performance.

Among the most notable projects of recent years are: the creation of Trauernacht, based on music by Johann Sebastian Bach and directed by Katie Mitchell (2014); the rediscovery of Luigi Rossi’s Orfeo at the Opéra national de Lorraine and the Royal Opera of the Palace of Versailles (2016); a spatially staged performance of Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine with Pierre Audi at the Holland Festival (2017); a staged version of Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem, directed by Jochen Sandig at the Bordeaux submarine base (2021); staged productions of The Magic Flute (2018) by Simon McBurney, Mozart’s Requiem (2019) and Samson (2024), a free interpretation inspired by Rameau’s lost opera, directed by Claus Guth at the Aix-en-Provence Festival; Léo Delibes’ Lakmé at the Opéra-Comique (2022), in a production by Laurent Pelly; Mein Traum (2022), a programme devoted to Schubert with baritone Stéphane Degout; Mendelssohn’s Elijah (2023) and Symphony No. 2, Lobgesang (2023)…

In 2020, Raphaël Pichon founded the Pulsations Festival in Bordeaux, an eclectic and multifaceted celebration featuring exceptional concerts in unexpected venues.

From 2024 onwards, in partnership with Arte and France Musique, he embarked on Les Chemins de Bach with Pygmalion. Travelling on foot and by bicycle, they retraced the formative journey Bach undertook between Arnstadt and Lübeck when he was twenty years old.

As a guest conductor, Raphaël Pichon has conducted the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester at the Berlin Philharmonie, La Scintilla at the Zurich Opera House, the Freiburger Barockorchester, the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston and the Mozarteum Orchestra. In 2023, he made his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival. The 2024–2025 season marked his debuts with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall. In opera, Raphaël Pichon has conducted at La Monnaie in Brussels, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam.

Raphaël Pichon is an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters.

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