Guitarist Valérie Duchâteau has Died, Aged 50

The French guitarist was also a composer and ran the magazine Guitare Classique

French guitarist Valérie Duchâteau has passed away from cancer at the age of 50.

Born in the French city of Metz, at a young age Duchâteau moved to Céret, a Catalonian town near the French-Spanish border. She first learned the guitar from Angel Iglesias, who introduced her to the Catalan style and took her to Barcelona, where she played on Paganini's guitars.

Duchâteau went on to study at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris with Alexandre Lagoya, where she went on to win the conservatory's top prize. She launched her career upon winning the D'Addario Foundation Prize in New York and went on to release her first album, America, in 1995. 

A few years later she began composing and performing music for a number of TV programs, including the well-known French show Envoyé spécial. Over the course of her career, she released 14 albums.

She also launched her own magazine, Guitarist Acoustic, and later ran the magazine Guitare Classique.

"I just want to say that you were an exceptional woman of talent, kindness and you gave me mad happiness," wrote Jean-Jacques Voisin, Duchâteau's husband. "Today my sorrow is immense and weighs on my heart without hope of healing."

Our condolences to Mrs. Duchâteau's family, friends, and colleagues.