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Oberlin Graduate
Pierre Jalbert Wins Masterprize International Competition
By
Marci Janas ‘91
RELATED
Pierre
Jalbert, a 1989 graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, with degrees
in piano performance and composition, has won the 2001
Masterprize International Competition, which was held at the Barbican
Centre in London, Oct. 10. The Duchess of Kent presented Jalbert with
the award at the end of the program, which was offered for live broadcast
to the European Broadcasting Union, BBC Radio 3 and BBC World Service.
The expected audience worldwide was 100 million.
Jalbert is California
Symphony’s current Young American Composer-in-Residence and serves
also on the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University,
where he is Assistant Professor in Composition and Music Theory.
He was among five finalists competing for the Masterprize, one of the
most important international prizes for composers of contemporary classical
music. Julie K. L. Dam, writing for Time magazine in 1998, commented:
"Such is the value of international exposure that some of the contestants
say being shortlisted for Masterprize is already more important than winning
any other composing competition."
In an interview given earlier this year to New Music Box, the web
magazine of the American Music Center,
Jalbert spoke about the value of competitions. "It is always encouraging
to be recognized," he said. "But mostly, I think awards are
useful for getting your name and music in front of other musicians. Perhaps,
they will remember your name, and if they like your music, may want to
commission a piece. . . . But I don’t think they should be used as
a way to place a value judgment on a composer’s work. The music should
speak for itself."
Jalbert received a £30,000 (British pound) award for In Aeternum,
commissioned by Barry Jekowsky and the California Symphony. The work
received its world premiere in May 2000 at the Dean Lesher Regional Center
for the Arts in Walnut Creek. In Aeternam, translated as Into
Eternity, was composed as a memorial to Jalbert’s niece, who
died at birth. It also incorporates the memory of hearing his son’s
heartbeat for the first time.
As one of 12 semi-finalists for the Masterprize, In Aeternam was
broadcast throughout Europe in the spring of 2000. Jalbert learned that
the work was among the five finalists in May.
Inclusion in such select company allowed for In Aeternam to be
recorded by the Budapest Symphony; the work was also broadcast live by
the symphony on Hungarian radio stations. The Budapest recording, along
with recordings made by other European orchestras for the other four finalists,
was made available on a CD that was distributed with the August issue
of the BBC magazine to its worldwide circulation.
Besides Jalbert, the other Masterprize finalists were: Carter Pann and
Anthony Iannaccone, from the United States; Qigang Chen, China; and Alastair
King, United Kingdom. The London Symphony Orchestra performed pieces by
all five composers at the competition’s Gala Final.
The California Symphony, as part of its 15th Anniversary Season, will
perform the world premiere of a new Jalbert work on May 19 and 21, 2002.
The program will include pieces by three former California Symphony Young
American Composers-in-Residence, among them Kamran Ince, who graduated
from the Oberlin Conservatory in 1982.
Information and tickets for this concert are available by calling 925-943-7469.
The concert takes place at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts,
1601 Civic Drive, in Walnut Creek, California.
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