After brilliant studies from Geneva to Paris under the supervision of eminent professors such as Thomas Friedli, Pascal Moragus and Michel Arrignon, Jérôme Comte gained international recognition in several competitions in Paris, Prague, and Munich, became a laureate of the Meyer Foundation for Artistic Development, the Banque Populaire Corporate Foundation, and was named 2003 Protégé of the Charles Cros Academy. It was in fact this same Academy that later awarded him the Grand Prix du Disque 2017 for his recording of Johannes Brahms’s Two Sonatas Op. 120 and Alban Berg’s Four Pieces Op. 5, with renowned pianist Denis Pascal.
He soon embarked on a chamber music career that led him to perform across the globe with world-renowned orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and the Ensemble intercontemporain, of which he became a member at the age of 25.
The following year, he performed Eclipsefor clarinet and ensemble by Yan Maresz at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, conducted by Pierre Boulez. In 2009, he collaborated again with the maestro, performing Elliott Carter’s Clarinet Concerto during a European tour in major concert halls — a concerto he later recorded with Matthias Pintscher and the Ensemble intercontemporain for Alpha Classics.
In 2010, he was entrusted with the demanding performance of Dialogue de l’ombre double by Pierre Boulez, during a retrospective of the composer at the Louvre Auditorium.
Among the most notable highlights of his career: performing Unsuk Chin’s Clarinet Concerto under Matthias Pintscher at the New World Center in Miami and at Tokyo Opera City Hall; and Hans Werner Henze’s moving work Miracle de la roseat the Cité de la Musique in Paris. In 2017, Jérôme Comte premiered Nocturne 3 for clarinet and orchestra by Korean composer Jaehyuck Choi, at the final of the prestigious International Composition Competition of Geneva, contributing to the composer’s victory in receiving the First Prize. In 2018, Philippe Hurel entrusted him with the world premiere of his clarinet concerto Quelques traces dans l’air, performed at the Stadttheater Cottbus in Germany.
Jérôme Comte teaches at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) and is also regularly invited around the world to work with young clarinettists in masterclasses — recent invitations include Taipei (Taiwan), Tokyo (Japan), Mexico City (Mexico) and San José (Costa Rica).
