Faculty

Alexandre Dossin, considered one of the most brilliant pianists of his generation, has performed in fifteen countries for the last twenty years. He is a prizewinner in International Piano Competitions such as Mozart International Piano Competition in Austria and Maria Callas Grand Prix in Greece. Alexandre Dossin received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin (under supervision of Dr. William Race and Prof. Gregory Allen), and Master of Fine Arts degree from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory (class of Professor Sergei Dorensky).

His acclaimed performances are always full of excitement, and combine his complete command of the instrument with a unique emotional depth not usually found in pianists of his age.

Alexandre Dossin uses his eclectic background and understanding of different cultures to enhance his performances of the great classics. He also has a wide and always growing Latin American repertoire.

Presently an Assistant Professor of piano at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Alexandre Dossin keeps active performance and teaching careers.

His wife, Maria Dossin, is the conductor of the Acadiana Symphony Youth Orchestra and they have a daughter, Sophia.

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Competitor in the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano competition
• Graduate Fellowship from the University of Texas at Austin, 1998-1999 academic year

• Ambassador of Rio Grande — State Award presented by the Rio Grande do Sul State Governor in September 1997, Brazil.

• Silver Medal and 2^nd Honorary Mention — Maria Callas Grand Prix, Athens, Greece, March 1996

• 3rd Prize and Special Prize from the Mozarteum Foundation —W.A. Mozart International Piano Competition, Salzburg, Austria, January 1995
• 4^th Prize — Mazara del Vallo International Piano Competition — Mazara del Vallo, Italy, December 1993

• 1^st Prize — Edino Krieger National Piano Competition Brusque, Brazil, 1988

• Hours Concours — Heitor Villa-Lobos Piano Competition Bage, Brazil, 1987

• 2^nd Prize — Santa Maria International Piano Competition, Santa Maria, Brazil, l987

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE

• solo recitals, chamber music recitals and concerts with orchestras in fifteen countries for the last eighteen years.
• performed in radio and TV broadcasts in Brazil, U.S. and Russia
• wide solo and chamber music repertoire
• more than twenty works for piano and orchestra ready to perform

SELECTED REVIEWS

"Dossin's approach to the piano is primarily poetical. But it can be the heroic poet as well as the pensive, deeply introspective one. In the Liszt Dante Sonate, the menacing and diabolical poet also muttered, gamboled and even terrorized, an effect that was previewed in the astonishing chromatic contrary double octave passage which ended the First Chopin Ballade.

Dossin's entire concert exhibited a masterful design of tonal dynamics. His Mozart Sonata recalled the fortepiano in scale of sound and judicious use of pedal, but it fully plumbed the enchanting range of colors in the modern piano's quieter tones.  His Chopin and Schumann, while still making use of soft bell-like tones that were a recurring delight, upped the dynamic range in each section of rising intensity.  It was not until the Liszt that Dossin chose to make the bass growl and brewed a storm of bright brass octave sound in all registers of the keyboard, yet his filigree passagework still shimmered with delicate clarity.

Dossin's handling of phrasing and voicing evidenced an obvious devotion and intense involvement with each musical line in all his pieces and his ability to make the piano a servant to his own wish to serve the music. Even the most complex, most rapid thematic material as well as the simplest, had its sense of shape and direction in inner as well as more prominent voices. He made rich use of the pedals in the Romantic works; flawless and fearless octave passages in the Liszt were at times pedaled generously as required but still exhibited a crisp clarity.

Dossin's playing is impressive musicianship at its best."

The Bryan-College Station Eagle, Texas, 10.25.2000

"…familiarity with the keyboard and an agile and delicate touch … master of expressiveness… great technique working for a rare talent. Exceptional pianist."

Diario Popular, Pelotas, Brazil, 08.15.2000

"He is in full process of maturity and is always serious and competent. He is secure of his technical and interpretative capacity."

Zero Hora, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 08.26.98

"Dossin is a phenomenon: his Mozart Sonata was marvelous. He knows very well how to sing Mozart with full control. This is the way that Mozart should be played. Brahms’s Intermezzi op. 117 were more than perfect, sublime. Prokofiev’s Toccata was the apotheosis."

Zero Hora, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 07.09.97

"The soloist, a student of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Alexandre Dossin, was fully artistic and performed Mozart with freedom. In spite of his young age, he showed himself as a fine performer of the great composer."

Moscovskaya Pravda, Moscow, Russia, 06.23.94

"…Alexandre Dossin is certainly prepared to be a brilliant pianist in the international musical life. And will for sure enter in the selected gallery of the piano virtuosos."

Zero Hora, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 08.19.90

"His ‘Allegros’ from the Haydn Sonata were wonderful, and it was possible to admire the extreme sensibility and technique of Alexandre Dossin, who is still a teenager but has already a wisdom that not every mature musician can find. Liszt’s Liebestraum was perfect, historical; a lesson of good taste and style. His touch is very delicate and the same is related to his performance of Debussy’s Claire de Lune and Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu."

Gazeta do Sul, Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil, 07.18.1989

"…pianist with a great stability and a beautiful sonority. He has a brilliant pianism, great strength of contrasts, technical freedom, personality and intelligence… there are no difficulties for him… exceptional performance. Young performer that has a brilliant technical interpretation. He is already a reality."

Diario Popular, Pelotas, Brazil, 10.28.88

"Instrumentalist with huge possibilities and a sensibility worthy of admiration. He has strong fingers and a beautiful clarity of sound."

Ultimas Noticias, Montevideo, Uruguay, 10.29.85

"A young pianist with perfect performance, fully developed with clarity and elegance, technically and aesthetically."

El Dia, Montevideo, Uruguay, 10.25.85