David Jalbert
Tuesday, August 22, at 7:30 p.m.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 436 Spadina Cres. East
A brilliant pianist with a warm, elegant style and extensive repertoire, David Jalbert is among the elite of a new generation of classical musicians. Named by CBC as one of the 15 best Canadian pianists of all time, he is a national and international prize winner, having received four Juno nominations and six Prix Opus awards. Gustin House warmly welcomes this final artist of the 2023 series to perform music spanning three centuries–-works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Prokofiev. With his personal style at the piano and a charismatic stage presence, David Jalbert dazzles audiences, critics and the press, who describe him as “a deeply musical pianist” (Cleveland Plain Dealer), “a virtuoso in the best sense of the word” (La Presse), and “[an artist with] wide-ranging musical imagination and phenomenal technique” (Toronto Star).
More about the artist
Virtuoso pianist David Jalbert performs regularly as a soloist, recitalist, and ensemble artist in Canada and across the globe. As guest soloist, he has appeared with many orchestras, including the Montreal Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Toronto Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Bielefelder Philharmoniker and the National Symphony of Ireland, collaborating with conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Christoph Campestrini, Bramwell Tovey and many more.
A recording artist as well as a solo and ensemble performer on world stages, Jalbert has released solo CDs of works by Bach and Shostakovich, and by French and contemporary American composers. These recordings have all garnered international praise in venues ranging from Gramophone to France-Culture. He is also a prized guest commentator for music broadcasts.
David Jalbert is an accomplished chamber musician in much demand, and is a member of his own piano trio, Triple Forte, whose first recording was awarded a 2014 Prix Opus (Album of the Year). Laureate of the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize of the Canada Council for the Arts (2007), the artist holds degrees from Juilliard, Glenn Gould School, Université de Montréal and Conservatoire de Musique du Québec. He is Professor of Piano and Head of the Piano Sector at the University of Ottawa, and faculty member at Orford Music Academy.
Luca Buratto
Tuesday, January 24, at 7:30 p.m.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 436 Spadina Cres. East
Since winning the 2015 Honens International Piano Competition, Luca Buratto has blazed onto the world stage with a reception of which most musicians can only dream. His recitals at Wigmore and Carnegie Halls heralded the Italian pianist as “a name to watch” (The Guardian) and “no ordinary virtuoso” (The Telegraph). Buratto’s incisive interpretation of the music of Robert Schumann has earned him particular acclaim. In a review of his CD release Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, Humoreske & Blumenstück, Alex Baran of Wholenote Toronto wrote: “Buratto plays with such a conviction that you immediately know he is certain he has revealed Robert Schumann’s true voice.” Gustin House is thrilled to open its all-piano recital season with Luca Buratto performing music of Schumann, Debussy and Ravel.
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Luca Buratto is being recognized across the globe are as a distinctive performer. In March 2018, having won the Honens International Piano Competition, Buratto made debut appearances at Konzerthaus Berlin followed by a performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. His symphonic engagements have included the Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi (La Scala Milan), Toronto Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and Edmonton Symphony.
Equally at home on the recital stage as the concert hall, Buratto’s festival appearances and residencies include Progetto Martha Argerich at the Lugano Festival (Switzerland), Busoni and Primavera Beethoveniana Festivals (Italy), Marlboro Music Festival (USA), and the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival (Canada).
After graduating from Milan Conservatory in 2010, Buratto earned a Masters degree from the Bolzano Conservatory. As a Theo Lieven Scholar at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano) under the guidance of William Grant Naborèm, he also attained a Masters of Advanced Studies. Buratto received Third Prize in the 2012 International Robert Schumann Competition, and is lauded for outstanding interpretation of the music of Robert Schumann. His highly regarded performances of prolific British composer Thomas Adès are described as “masterly” by International Piano Magazine, and reveal Buratto’s versatility as “an artist who is both illuminating and unafraid” (ConcertoNet). He has been featured on national radio broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, Radio Classica, Radio 3 RAI, WFMT, and WQXR.
Catherine Vickers
Tuesday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 436 Spadina Cres. East
Gustin House proudly presents Saskatchewan-born international pianist Catherine Vickers in a recital of fascinating music from the 20th and 21st centuries! A winner of the Busoni Prize and Gold Medal in Italy, she continues to be praised as a stellar classical pianist for her concerts in Europe, North and South America, and Asia. She has become especially well known and much respected as an active practitioner of modern repertoire, including newest avant-garde compositions. A resident of Germany, Vickers is a regular guest at international new music festivals and has been artistic director of an electronics-piano festival in Karlsruhe. She recently published the fourth in a set of books on piano technique for contemporary music.
For her return to the Lyell Gustin Recitals in Easter week, Catherine Vickers has designed a unique program, a soundscape of music from the late 19th century to the 21st ... Weber-Liszt, Brahms, Debussy, Scriabin, and a 2019 work by N. Huber, all in celebration of 300 years of The Piano!
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Catherine Vickers is a native of Regina, where she did her first music studies, performing across Saskatchewan as a young pianist. After further studies in Edmonton, she received a Canada Council grant to study in Europe, taking piano courses with eminent artists such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Alfred Brendel, and György Sebok. Among early formative musical activities in her home province, Vickers spent eight consecutive seasons at the Lyell Gustin Summer School in Saskatoon; she is now generously serving as Honorary President of Gustin House.
In 1979, Catherine Vickers won the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and Gold Medal in Italy, and was an award winner at the Sydney International Piano Competition. For some time, she was on the faculty at Folkwang-Hochshule in Essen, Germany, and from 1998 to 2018 was Professor at the University of Music and the Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
The artist has appeared in concert across Asia, Europe, North and South America, performing an extensive repertoire, ranging from standard traditional piano music to avant-garde compositions. Vickers appears regularly at international new music festivals in centres such as Munich, Darmstadt and Stuttgart, and she is a member of juries of international competitions for piano and chamber music. She has released several CDs, and has written a series of books, The Listening Hand, on piano technique for contemporary music.