David Jalbert

Jalbert, David
David Jalbert. Pianist, teacher, b Rimouski, Que, 3 Nov 1977; Diplôme d'études supérieures I (Conservatoire de musique du Québec) 1997, M MUS (Montreal) 1999, Artist Diploma (Glenn Gould) 2001, Artist Diploma (Juilliard) 2003. David Jalbert began playing the piano at age 4 with the encouragement of his father. At 21 he graduated from the Université de Montréal, where he studied with Marc Durand and received the Governor General's Gold Medal for academic excellence. He continued his studies at The Glenn Gould School with Durand, André Laplante, Leon Fleisher, and John Perry; and at The Juilliard School with Jerome Lowenthal. Other teachers have included Pauline Charron and Marilyn Engle.

View a video clip of David Jalbert performing Shostakovich's "Prelude and Fugue No. 7." From davidjalbertpiano on YouTube.

Video not working? Report a broken link.

Solo Performances
Referred to as a "young master" by John Corigliano, Jalbert is considered one of Canada's best up-and-coming concert pianists. As a soloist he has performed with nearly every major orchestra in Canada, including the CBC Radio Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO), the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orchestre métropolitain, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed internationally with the Bielefelder Philharmoniker and the National Symphony of Ireland. Jalbert performed as part of the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in 2003 and for the Women's Musical Club of Toronto in 2004. In 2007 he premiered Dinuk Wijeratne's Colour Study in Rupak Taal at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts as part of Music Toronto's recital series.

Collaborations
Jalbert has frequently performed, recorded, and toured with cellist Denise Djokic. The two have appeared together at the Phillips Collection and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and at New York's Bargemusic. In 2002 Djokic and Jalbert were the subject of Seven Days, Seven Nights (Paul Kimball, director), a documentary film that followed them through a week-long tour of rural British Columbia. Jalbert is also a member of the piano trio Triple Forte with violinist Jasper Wood and cellist Yegor Dyachkov. Other collaborators have included Quatuor Alcan, Pentaèdre, Louis-Philippe Marsolais, violinists Rachel Barton Pine and Jonathan Crow, and pianists Anton Kuerti and Naida Cole.

Recordings
Jalbert and Djokic's critically acclaimed 2005 release, Folklore, garnered a Juno Award nomination for classical album of the year, and was named classical recording of the year at the 2006 East Coast Music Awards. Jalbert's recording of Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues was nominated for classical album of the year at the 2009 Junos. The album also received an Opus Award for recording of the year in the modern and contemporary category in 2009.

Prizes
Jalbert won first prize at the Concours Clermont-Pépin in 1996 and the MSO Competition in 1997, and second prize at the CBC Competition for Young Performers in 1999. In 2000 he became the first Canadian to reach the finals in the Dublin International Piano Competition, where he was awarded fourth prize. Jalbert has received two awards from the Canada Council for the Arts: the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award in 2001 and the Virginia Parker Prize in 2007. In 2009 Jalbert, along with Djokic, violinist Marc Djokic, and clarinetist Jean-François Normand, received an Opus Award from the Conseil québécois de la musique for concert of the year (regional).

In 2008 Jalbert became a faculty member at the University of Ottawa's School of Music.

Selected Discography
Corigliano & Rzewski: Ballads & Fantasies. 2003. Endeavour Classics END 1011

Folklore. Schumann - Vaughan Williams - Stravinsky. 2005. Denise Djokic cello. Endeavour Classics END 1013

Fauré: Complete Nocturnes. 2006. Endeavour Classics END 1014

The German Romantic Horn. 2006. Louis-Philippe Marsolais French horn. Oehms Classics OC 582

Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues. 2008. ATMA Classique ACD 22555

L'Héritage Beethoven. Beethoven - Czerny - Ries. 2009. Louis-Philippe Marsolais French horn. ATMA Classique ACD 22592

Author Janna Whelan

Bibliography

Fujimoto, Jun. "An Interview with pianist David Jalbert," La Scena Musicale, vol 6, no 5, Feb 2001

Kelly, Brian. "Mozart concerto deeply impresses pianist Jalbert," Sault Star (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont), 30 May 2002

Brennan, Jake. "Jalbert's joie de jouer: Young talent takes Brandeen tonight," Record (Sherbrooke, Que), 14 Feb 2003

Terauds, John. "Quebecois pianist David Jalbert a rising star in concert world," Canadian Press NewsWire, 16 Mar 2006

Petrescu, Sarah. "Hot young pianist refuses to be defined by a label," Times-Colonist (Victoria, BC), 18 Oct 2007

Links to Other Sites
Piano Plus
The official website for the Piano Six Foundation, a non-profit organization that brought outstanding musicians to small communities across the country.

Triple Forte
The website for piano trio Triple Forte. Composed of three renowned soloists – violinist Jasper Wood, cellist Yegor Dyachkov and pianist David Jalbert. Check out multimedia clips from their performances.

David Jalbert: Shostakovich Prelude and Fugue No. 7
View a video clip of David Jalbert performing Shostakovich's "Prelude and Fugue No. 7." From davidjalbertpiano on YouTube.