Violin Concerto (2017)

World Premiere:  This work was commissioned by a consortium of orchestras and their concertmasters as soloists; the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra with Steven Copes, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra with Margaret Batjer, and the Milwaukee Symphony with Frank Almond.

Program Notes:

My Violin Concerto is in two movements of contrasting character.  The first movement, marked “soulful and mysterious”, begins with a slow introduction and eventually transitions into a scherzando section. The very opening of the piece explores the violin’s lyrical and expressive qualities as it hovers above ethereal strings and percussion.  The middle section of the movement is a dynamic scherzo of sorts, almost becoming a separate movement in itself before the opening finally returns to conclude the movement. 

The second movement, marked “with great energy” moves freely back and forth between frenetic, pulse-oriented music and freely slow, non-pulsed music.  These slower sections contain lyrical quarter-tone pitch-bending in the violin, and this serves as the primary motivic material in this section.  Eventually, the fast music takes over and leads to a fiery cadenza.

-- Pierre Jalbert

WATCH the full performance of Jalbert's Violin Concerto with Steven Copes, violin, Thomas Zehetmair, conductor, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Purchase CD of Jalbert's Violin Concerto with the LA Chamber Orchestra on Amazon.