Born in Paris in 1955, Michel Dalberto was a disciple of Vlado Perlemuter at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique of this same city. Perlemuter’s teaching profoundly affected him and in 2002 he paid homage to the master at the Conservatoire with Michael Levinas and some other prestigious pupils. Having just graduated from the Conservatoire, Michel Dalberto won the Clara Haskil Prize, the First Prize at the Mozart Competition in Salzburg and then the First Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition. Although Dalberto was a disciple of a master in French music, he first decided to enlarge his German repertoire, (Mozart, Schubert and Brahms) and made several recordings that attest to his deep understanding of the compositions.
His career was quickly crowned with prestigious awards notably for the recordings of his first CDs. Internationally renowned, he has played with great conductors, (E. Leinsdorf, C. Davis, E. Inbal, W. Sawallisch, C. Dutoit) and has performed chamber music with Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, the Modigliani Quartet, Barbara Hendricks and Henri Demarquette with whom he has recorded the complete Cello Sonatas by Beethoven and Brahms. Inspired by a desire to transmit his art, Michel Dalberto took charge of the artistic direction of the Festival des Arcs from 1990 to 2004 and became the successor to Nikita Magaloff as president of the jury for the Clara Haskil Competition. He imparts his knowledge to students during master classes or sessions at the Accademia Pianistica in Imola.
Michel Dalberto is one of the major interpreters of the Germanic and French repertoires. He allies the mastering of form with a sonorous demand shedding light on each of the works he turns to. A musician of international standing, he is acknowledged as one of the greatest French pianists of his generation.
Distinction
- Michel Dalberto was honoured as Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Mérite in 1996.
