ALEXANDRE DA COSTA was born in Montreal Canada in 1979. He showed an uncommon interest for both the violin and piano at a very early age. By the age of nine, he had the astounding ability to perform his first concerts with stunning virtuosity on both instruments, which brought him recognition as a musical prodigy. His chosen professional career as a violinist began very early and he was soon performing regularly as soloist with orchestra as well as in recital.
In 1998, at the age of 18, he received a Master’s degree in violin and a First Prize from the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec where he studied with Johanne Arel. Concurrently, he also received a Bachelor’ s degree in Piano Interpretation from the faculty of music of the University of Montreal. From 1998 to 2001, he studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia in Madrid with the violin master Zakhar Bron, teacher of violinists such as Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin. In 2002, he won the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award for best Canadian artist under 30 years old. Between 2003 and 2006, after winning the Musical Instrument Bank competition of the Canada Council for the Arts, he played the 1689 Baumgartner Stradivarius.
Winner of many prestigious national and international first prizes, he appeared as soloist in nearly 1000 concerts throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, France, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Japan, China, Taiwan, etc. Alexandre Da Costa performed in major halls such as Vienna’s Musikverein, Berlin’s Philharmonie, Hamburg’s Musikhalle, Madrid’s National Auditorium, Beijing’s Poly Theater, etc., and played with prestigious orchestras such as the London Royal Philharmonic, the Bergen Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphony, the Hamburg Symphony, the Vienna Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, etc. He recorded live performances for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the WestDeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Radio-Classical International, Radio-Canada/CBC, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), Radio Nacional de España (RNE), Austria State Radio (ORF), TV Asahi Japan, etc. Between 1998 and 2006, he recorded 9 CDs for the XXI-21 Record label, among them the world premiere recording of violin Concerto by Portuguese composer Luis de Freitas Branco. This recording was received with great acclaim by the critics and music lovers around the world, and was nominated at the JUNO Awards 2006. His latest release, Vivaldi Four Seasons with the chamber orchestra of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, was received with a very warm enthusiasm by the press and the public. Other recordings include Mozart’s violin & viola duos with Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s Solo violist Christian Frohn, concerti by Tchaikovsky & Bruch, Bach & Ysaye solo sonatas, Spanish works by Turina, de Falla, Nin, Albeniz, etc. He now records for ATMA.
In 2006-07, Alexandre Da Costa is set to perform concerti by Beethoven, Lalo, Bruch, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Daugherty, Fernandes, etc., with several European and American orchestras such as Montreal Symphony Orchestra, London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Gran Canarias Philharmonic Orchestra, Spanish National Radio & TV Orchestra, Extremadura Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, etc., in Europe, America and Asia. He is touring Spain, China and Japan this year with British, Russian, Japanese, Canadian, Spanish and Czech orchestras. Alexandre performed with conductors such as Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Leonard Slatkin, Matthias Bamert, Günter Herbig, Pedro Halffter, Robert Bernhardt, Gintara Rinkevicius, Jesus Amigo, Jean-François Rivest, Jean-Philippe Tremblay, etc.
In addition to his concerts schedule, Alexandre is active as a teacher, giving workshops and Masterclasses in various universities and Conservatories around the world while travelling for concerts. He was also named Musical Development Director of the Canimex Foundation, an organization gathering an impressive collection of Fine Instruments for the benefit of talented artists.
All reviews are unanimous in saluting Alexandre's faultless technique, inherited directly from the Russian School, his exceptional energy and musical talent. Alexandre da Costa now plays the 1667 “Dubois” Stradivarius and a Sartory bow, courtesy of Canimex.
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