Éric Pénicaud (born 14 June 1952) is a French classical composer, classical guitarist and improviser.
 Born in Casablanca, from the age of seven, Pénicaud received "customized" and non-institutional musical training, first with his father (a good amateur guitarist who had learned from his mother, who herself had learned from his father; it would be necessary to go back in time to the ancient family history, to Ricardo Viñes, Pablo Casals, as well as to Ravel, Fauré, and even to the old Brahms), then with friends of his music-loving family, teachers and concert performers (for example between the ages of eleven and thirteen, it was Narciso Yepes who gave him his precious advice). At the same time, he studied all the compás [fr] of flamenco. He also began to learn about jazz and improvisation from the age of thirteen. Pénicaud first gave many classical - and flamenco - performances in private circles, but now he will play in public, in other musical genres (for example in jazz alongside Laurent Petitgirard at the organ of the Américan Center in Paris [fr]).
 At the age of nineteen, he left the capital for Provence (advanced training - instrument and writing - teaching). He perfected his skills with René Bartoli, then with Leo Brouwer, Abel Carlevaro, Javier Hinojosa, as well as Paco Peña and Manolo Sanlucar for flamenco. Later on, there will be other festivals in Provence, with for example Juan Carmona or the Chemirani sons (oriental percussions). He will also improvise a lot - sometimes to his own music - with jazz players, Larry Coryell, Raphaël Faÿs, Jaco Pastorius, Barre Phillips...
 This eclecticism acquired since childhood allows him to blend into each genre and will paradoxically lead him to refocus on musical composition, for which he was guided at first by his uncle and composer Stéphane Caplain. He can also be guided by the sea, the wind, the stars as Debussy and Ohana recommended: he travelled the Mediterranean by sailboat for years (later it would be all the oceans by cargo ship). He collects in passing many so-called "ethnic" music and he deepens again and again the writing of ancient and modern masters (since Machaut, to Stravinsky, Bartók, Messiaen, Ohana etc.).
 Pénicaud is part of the "New Music" Composers Group, alongside personalities such as Thierry Escaich, Anthony Girard, Philippe Hersant, Michaël Sebaoun...
 His work won eight International Prizes for composition from 1984 to 2002: "Carrefour mondial de la guitare" (Martinique, 1984, 1988), Tokyo (1987), Italy (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002). In 2016, he was awarded the First Prize of Composition "International Art Society", in Volos, Greece; he also received the title "Artist of the Year": he is the only musician selected for this supreme distinction - all categories combined (for example in piano Martha Argerich) was mentioned.
 This brings to ten the number of his International Awards. A work of a homogeneous quality that is recognized and praised everywhere, by many composers (Leo Brouwer, Régis Campo, Pascal Dusapin, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Fénelon, Philippe Hersant, Maurice Ohana...), various non-guitar great performers (flautist Pierre-Yves Artaud, percussionist Jean-Pierre Drouet, violists Garth Knox – former member of the Arditti Quartet and the Ensemble Intercontemporain - and Pierre-Henri Xuereb, conductors Daniel Oren, Gilles Colliard...), guitarists and music educators (Julian Bream, Abel Carlevaro, Alberto Ponce, Narciso Yepes...), eminent ambassadors of other musics that he has also played for a long time (Jaco Pastorius, Larry Coryell, Juan Carmona, Egberto Gismonti...),  and also - because it goes far beyond that - by poets (Christian Bobin), writers (Erik Orsenna), marine painters (Titouan Lamazou), scientific thinkers (Boris Cyrulnik, Hubert Reeves)...
 In addition to the guitar, Pénicaud has also written for some thirty instruments, piano, percussion, strings, various flutes, voice, harp, clarinet, oboe, string quartet, various ensembles, and many instruments in jazz formation (keyboards, bass guitar, various saxophones, etc.).
 Pénicaud's work is played, to mention only the guitarists - and the most representative - by Gérard Abiton, Roberto Aussel, Tania Chagnot, Arnaud Dumond, Roland Dyens, Éric Franceries, François Laurent, Sébastien Llinares, Olivier Pelmoine (Duo Cordes et Âmes [fr] with violinist Sara Chenal), Fabrizio Furci with the Russian mezzo-soprano Liliia Kolosova, Samuelito, Gaëlle Solal, Sébastien Vachez, duos like the Guitar Duo Transatlantique (Benjamin Beirs, USA / Maud Laforest, France), several guitar quartets (Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet as well as Italian quartets), guitar octets (from Paris, Harmonique XII from Betho Davezac, etc.), the Ensemble Polychronies, or even by Fabio Zanon (Brazil), Yiannis Andronoglou (Greece), Ishiro Suzuki, Shin-Ichi Fukuda, Gen Matsuda (Japan), Marco Tamayo (Cuba), Giulio Tampalini, Alberto Vingiano (Italy), Tatiana Kurenchakova (Russia), etc.
 Many press articles, for France: in Diapason, Le Monde de la musique, Classica-Répertoire, Les Cahiers de la Guitare, Guitare Classique... and abroad in Classical Guitar, U.K., Gendai Guitar, Japan, Guitar Review, USA, Seicorde, Italy, etc.
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