Guiot was born in
Roubaix on 5 October 1930, to Georges and Alphonsine Guiot. His father was a sports teacher interested in music. He grew up with an older brother. He entered the conservatoire of his hometown aged 7. His first teacher in
solfège, Fernand Dusausoy, also taught flute and won him for that instrument although he had preferred trumpet. Guiot moved on to the
Conservatoire de Paris at age 14, where he studied for two years in
Marcel Moyse's class. Moyse shaped his technique and also his integrity and attitude to work. Guiot achieved the
first prize at the conservatoire in 1947. A few months later, he joined the
Opéra de Lille as
piccolo, playing with musical directors
Fernand Oubradous and
Georges Prêtre. He learned his trade there over three years, performing many operas, operettas and lyrical comedies. Guiot then taught flute at the École nationale de musique de Calais from 1950 to 1956. During this time he prepared – alone – the
Geneva International Music Competition, of which he won the first prize in 1954. In 1956, the
French Republican Guard Band of Paris gave Guiot the opportunity to leave
Calais. He then started to work a lot for the Parisian recording studios, often participating in three daily recording sessions. In many of the recordings from the 1960s and 1970s, the musicians were not credited. He played in a jazz quartet with drummer
Daniel Humair, bassist and pianist
George Gruntz, and also collaborated with violinist
André Hodeir, clarinetist
Maxim Saury, and guitarists
Baden Powell,
Elek Bacsik and Claude Ciari. Guiot became principal flute at the
Opéra de Paris in 1962, holding the post until 1991. He also became assistant to
Alain Marion at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1977, teaching to a generation of flautists both "rigorous technique and stylistic freedom".
Personal life Guiot married the sister of his jazz quartet partner Guy Pedersen. He died on 11 July 2025, aged 94. == Compositions ==