Jalbert calls upon emotions in composition

Jalbert
calls upon emotions in composition
…………………………………………………………………

BY ELLEN CHANG
Rice News Staff

Pierre Jalbert,
an assistant professor of composition and theory at Rice’s
Shepherd School of Music, won the $44,000 Masterprize composing
competition for new classical music.

Jalbert, 33,
won the international competition for his piece “In
Aeternam” (“In Eternity”), which originally
was commissioned by Barry Jekowsky and the California Symphony
as part of the orchestra’s Young American Composer-in-Residence
program. He was announced the winner in London by the Duchess
of Kent Oct. 10.

The Masterprize
is considered one of the world’s most important international
prizes for composers of classical music. The announcement
was made following a performance of each of the five finalists’
work by the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre.
The competition and award ceremony was broadcast by the
European Broadcasting Union, BBC Radio 3 and BBC World Service,
with an estimated worldwide audience of 100 million. It
also was broadcast internationally via the competition’s
Web site.

Half of the final
decision was based on a public vote, with the remainder
determined by recommendations from a live panel of distinguished
judges and a vote by London Symphony Orchestra members.

The winning
piece was written in memory of Jalbert’s niece, who
died at birth nearly 10 years ago. In the piece Jalbert
aims to capture a range of emotions, from sorrow and grief
to shock and despair. It also is about the celebration of
life, with the memory of hearing his son Peter’s heartbeat
for the first time.

Jalbert finished
composing the piece last year when his son turned 4.

“For me,
I needed a lot of time to absorb it and be able to actually
put something down,” he said. “I think one needs
time to absorb the events of the past.”

The piece was
written in three large sections, each sharply contrasting
the others. “In Aeternam” opens with “slow,
soft lyrical music,” then moves on to the second section,
which is more dramatic in character with its force and intensity,
Jalbert said. The final section repeats the opening mood
of the first section.

In the beginning
of the piece, listeners hear a short thematic fragment played
by a solo piccolo, which comes back again and again, Jalbert
said. The piccolo is reprised in the second section. This
thematic fragment is transformed into something more aggressive
by the brass and percussion sections of the orchestra.

“In Aeternam”
was recorded for Masterprize by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra
of the Hungarian Radio with Laszlo Kovacs conducting.

Surprised at
winning the award, Jalbert said it was a rare privilege
to have the opportunity to reach so many listeners through
the BBC’s radio broadcasts worldwide.

“I was
very shocked,” he said. “I really wasn’t
expecting it for many reasons. But somehow it all worked
out. It was just a great experience.”

Jalbert received
his musical training at the Oberlin Conservatory and the
University of Pennsylvania. He has won numerous awards for
his compositions, including a residency at the Copland House,
a Guggenheim Fellowship, two BMI Foundation Composition
Awards, three ASCAP Foundation Awards, a Society of Composers
Award, the Bearns Prize in Composition and a Tanglewood
Music Center fellowship. He recently returned from a year’s
fellowship at the American Academy in Rome as a winner of
the prestigious Rome Prize in composition. Jalbert’s
works have been performed throughout the United States,
and he has received numerous commissions.