Jacques Thibaud (27 September 1880 – 1 September 1953) was a French violinist.
Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won the conservatory's violin prize with Pierre Monteux (who later became a famous conductor). He had to rebuild his technique after being injured in World War I. In 1943 he and Marguerite Long established the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition for violinists and pianists, which takes place each year in Paris. From 2011, it will include singers and be known as the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition, in honour of the soprano Régine Crespin.[1]
Thibaud was noted not only for his work as a soloist, but also for his performances of chamber music, particularly in a piano trio with the pianist Alfred Cortot and cellist Pablo Casals. He undertook concert tours with pianist Yves Nat and George Enescu. He was a friend of violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, who dedicated his second sonata for solo violin to him. Among his students were Eric Rosenblith and Joan Field.
On 1 September 1953, Thibaud and 41 others died in the crash of an Air France Lockheed Constellation airliner. The aircraft, registration F-BAZZ, was on final approach to Nice when it crashed into Mt Cemet in the French Alps. His 1720 Stradivarius violin was destroyed in the crash.[2] The accident investigation established "controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)" as the cause.[3]