“Guitarist Gaëlle Solal is a real phenomenon. She demonstrates it here, with panache, within a musicality where the finesse of the game is not the least asset. One of the greatest classical guitar recordings of the last ten years. Everything here is perfect balance, virtuosity full of emotion, tangible breathtaking musicality, in a detailed and precise sound recording to perfection.” OpusHD.net

The daughter of music-loving parents, Gaëlle Solal discovered the classical guitar at the age of five, during a small concert in a backyard that took on the appearance of a revelation. She entered the Marseille Conservatory the following year, where René Bartoli taught her the guitar according to the rules of the art, of the game... and of the challenge! Against the advice of her teachers in Terminale, who saw a bright future for her in business school or mathematics, she entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris at the age of 16. There are dreams that stick to your skin and this child's notebook on which is noted: "When I grow up, I want to be a dancer and a musician" can testify to it.

From the Conservatory, Gaëlle keeps the vibrant memory of a masterclass by Léo Brouwer, a famous Cuban composer, who selected her for the recital of the best students. After three years, not devoid of some adversity, she completed the CNSM with the 1st Guitar Prize unanimously, the DFS with honors and a multiplied will. Playful, ambitious and feverish at the idea of missing out on a new challenge, she took part in international competitions alongside her Masters at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. In 1998, she became the first Frenchwoman to win one of the greatest classical guitar competitions, the Alessandria competition (unique fact:  the second prize will not be awarded). This Grand Prix marks the beginning of his international career. Finalist of the Concert Artist Guild of New York, the Forum Guitar Wien, the Benicasim International Competition and the René Bartoli International Competition, Gaëlle has won twelve prizes in national and international competitions. She is also an honorary laureate of the Beracasa Foundation, Meyer Foundation, Emma Contestabile Foundation, Fundación La Caixa, BNP Paribas Foundation, Accademia Chigiana and Societe Generale Patronage.

In the early 2000s, Gaëlle Solal moved to Andalusia where she obtained a post as associate professor at the Superior Conservatories of Cordoba and Seville. During these seven years of teaching, she never stops learning and follows masterclasses around the world, notably those of Roland Dyens, Oscar Ghiglia, Antigoni Goni, Alvaro Pierri and Joaquin Clerch. In 2002, CulturesFrance selected her for the Déclic Series. Tours will follow in India, Africa, Southeast Asia, the United States, Mexico, Canada and Germany.

In 2006, after ten years with the Astor duo, Gaëlle Solal resumed her solo career, immediately winning second prize from the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America and performing in more than forty countries: at the Purcell Room in London, the Salle Cortot, the Mogador theatre, the Corum hall in Montpellier, the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, the Oji Hall in Tokyo, the Concert Hall in Kyoto, the Teatro Maestranza in Seville, the Teatro Comunale in Alexandria, the Merkin Hall in New York, at the Organization of American States in Washington, at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, at the Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg and for the festivals of Radio France in Montpellier, the Flâneries musicales in Reims and the Festival de Torroella de Montgrí.

Gaëlle loves chamber music and collaborations: Astor guitar duo, with choreographer and breakdancer Julien Carlier, as a chamber musician with mezzo soprano Sarah Théry, clarinettists Florent Héau and Antonio Salguero, bandoneonist Jérémy Vannereau, Choeur Nicolas de Grigny , the Allegri Ensemble, the Variatio choir, the Zahir ensemble and as a soloist with the Berkeley Symphony, the Republican Guard Orchestra, the Turin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Passionate about contemporary music, she performed the first performance of Maurice Ohana's concerto in Italy, the world premiere of Naomi Sekiya's concerto with Kent Nagano as well as the premiere of three new pieces at the Córdoba International Guitar Festival. Composer Elodie Bouny has just dedicated the Nodus concerto for guitar and orchestra to him.

In 2009, an unexpected getaway to Brazil took a new turn in his career. It's the endless rodas that rekindle his curiosity and childlike excitement for a music that is played only to the rhythm of pleasure, emotions and freedom. On her return, Gaëlle unpacks from her suitcases a host of scores and a new vitality. She gave up teaching to devote herself fully to her infinite love for the stage and to everything she would like to learn: tap dancing, mimes, clowning, beatboxing, contemporary dance, jazz and popular music, theatrical improvisation... From all these experiences will be born the show Crazy Nails in duet with Boris Gaquere, which merges clownish acting and music of all styles, as well as the program of the album “Tuhu”.

More attached to freedom than to dogma, Gaëlle Solal goes smoothly from the solemn solo in a long dress to the clownish duet, from Bach to the Beatles, from contemporary music to baroque music. Committed and united, she fights for the presence and visibility of women in the world of the guitar and in the programming of concerts and festivals through the Guitar'Elles association of which she is the founder. She has lived in Brussels since 2011 and teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent.

Solo discography
2007 Maestri della Chitarra. Seicord Review
2012 Chaconnes & Passacailles. Riverside records
2020 Tuhu. Eudora Records
Holdings
1998 Guitar More. flight. 30. Mandala / Harmonia Mundi
2002 CulturesFrance/Radio France. Declic Series
2003 Arnaud Dumond: works for guitar. Ad hoc
2010 Guitar of the XXI century. Eric Penicaud. Quantum