Angèle Dubeau

An artist of rare versatility considered one of the most prominent violin virtuosos in Canada. For more than 35 years, Angèle Dubeau has led a dazzling career in the great concert halls of the world. While her virtuosity and musicality have seduced critics, the public has adopted Dubeau for her uncommon gifts as a communicator and her outstanding ability to connect with it.  Her virtuosity and musicality have garnered many prizes over the years, and she is one of the rare classical violinists in the world to have been awarded gold records.  She has already sold over 500,000 albums in her career.   Angèle Dubeau’s musical trajectory remains unequalled. Introduced to the violin at a very young age, she attended Raymond Dessaints’ class at the Montreal Conservatory of Music and became, at 15, the youngest student ever to receive a first prize in violin. Feeling ready to spread her wings even further, she moved to New York to work with Dorothy DeLay at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music, then, from 1981 to 1984 she studied in Romania with the eminent pedagogue Stefan Gheorgiu. She has won several national and international competitions and is the guest of international orchestras, performing the great concertos of the repertoire. Convinced of the need to introduce classical music to a wider audience, Dubeau has been a pioneer in programming and hosting gala concerts and weekly music television programs such as the famous Radio-Canada show Faites vos gammes. Since 1995, she hosts and directs the popular Fête de la musique, a music festival in Mont-Tremblant, which attracts over 35,000 music lovers annually.   Whether standing alone, in front of an orchestra, or in the intimacy of chamber repertoire with La Pietà, Angèle Dubeau continues to move and astonish us, while wanting only one thing: to start again.   Angèle Dubeau is a Member of the Order of Canada since July 1996 and has been elevated to the rank of Officer in 2012. In 1996, she has also received the Calixa-Lavallée prize from the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste for her exceptional contribution to classical music. She is also a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec since 2004.   Angèle Dubeau plays on the “Des Rosiers” Stradivarius violin (1733).   La Pietà   Transformed by this same desire to innovate, Angèle Dubeau founded La Pietà in 1997, an all-female string orchestra featuring some of Canada’s best musicians. What she could not have known at the time was that this experiment, originally conceived for periodic recordings, would gradually occupy most of her time. From early on, the ensemble gained a solid reputation, playing Canada’s most prestigious venues and on television. “Precise attacks, excellent ensemble playing and energy… One would think oneself magically transported to the blessed era of the Solisti di Zagreb… passion, presence… The musicians’ smiles are contagious, even more so because they are conveyed by way of both mouth and ears” noted Le Devoir.   Known for their exceptional virtuosity and impeccable precision, their rich interpretations, but above all the contagious happiness that enlivens their stage presence, Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà have crisscrossed the world for 18 years. The Los Angeles Times noted that “Dubeau is an exciting, dynamic fiddler… The performances were consistently robust and inquiring, taking nothing for granted… Dubeau’s well-drilled band played with agility, power, a nicely weighted sound and a fierce joy in the doing.”