Antonio Pompa-Baldi (born December 1, 1974) is an Italian-American pianist. The first prize winner in the 1999

Cleveland International Piano Competition The Cleveland International Piano Competition is an American piano competition that takes place biennially in Cleveland, Ohio. The initial Competition in 1975 and the nine others that followed were sponsored jointly by the Robert Casadesus Society ...

and silver medalist of the 2001

Van Cliburn International Piano Competition The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (The Cliburn) is an American piano competition by The Cliburn, first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and hosted by the Van Cliburn Foundation. Initially held at Texas Christian University, the ...

, Pompa-Baldi has been noted by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' for his "meltingly beautiful" playing. He was also a prizewinner of the 1998 Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition. Pompa-Baldi performs internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist under such conductors as

Hans Graf Hans Graf (born 15 February 1949 in Marchtrenk) is an Austrian conductor. Biography As a child, Graf learned the violin and the piano. He studied at the Musikhochschule in Graz, Austria, and graduated with diplomas in piano and conducting. He a ...

Miguel Harth-Bedoya Miguel Alberto Harth-Bedoya Gonzalez (born 1968) is a Peruvian conductor. He was formerly music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2020 and chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra from 2013 to 2020. Starting the Fa ...

, Theodore Kuchar and

Krzysztof Urbański Krzysztof Urbański (born 17 October 1982, Pabianice, Poland) is a Polish conductor and composer. Biography Urbański studied conducting at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, where his teachers included Antoni Wit, who one year ...

. Pompa-Baldi currently serves as distinguished profesor of piano and head of the piano department at the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

Early life and education

Pompa-Baldi was born to a non-musical family in

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

, Italy. When he was about three years old, his parents stumbled upon a television broadcast of a performance of a piano concerto, and Pompa-Baldi, captivated, started "playing on the table". Shortly after, his parents gave him a toy piano, on which he taught himself to play some tunes by ear. He began formal piano lessons at the age of four with Vittorio Sannoner, and at fourteen, won a string of competition awards in Italy. In 1993, Pompa-Baldi graduated from the Umberto Giordano Conservatory of Foggia, and afterwards moved to Napoli, where he began studies with Annamaria Pennella. He also studied for about 18 months with

Aldo Ciccolini Aldo Ciccolini (; 15 August 1925 – 1 February 2015) was an Italian pianist who became a naturalized French citizen in 1971. Biography Aldo Ciccolini was born in Naples. His father, whose family bore the title of Marquis in the city of Macera ...

, and also served as his assistant. Pompa-Baldi also studied with Paul Badura-Skoda, Bruno Canino, and

Jörg Demus Jörg Wolfgang Demus (2 December 1928 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on ...

Career

In 1998 Pompa-Baldi received the 3rd Prize at the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris, France. He also received the special prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary work written for the competition ("Tumultes" by Serge Nigg). In 1999 he won the first prize in the

, which lead to over 450 concert engagements within two years. In 2001 Pompa-Baldi won a silver medal at the 11th

in 2001 in addition to the special prize for the best performance of a new work ("Three Impromptus" by

Lowell Liebermann Lowell Liebermann (born February 22, 1961, in New York City) is an American composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career At the age of sixteen, Liebermann performed at Carnegie Hall, playing his Piano Sonata, op. 1. He studied at the Juilliar ...

). He also won the most prize money. His performance of

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

's Piano Concerto No. 3 (Op. 26) with the

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Fort Worth, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall. In addition to its symphonic and pops concert series, the FWSO ...

and

James Conlon James Conlon (born March 18, 1950) is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of Los Angeles Opera and principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra. Early years Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Che ...

in the final round was described by Scott Cantrell of ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'' as "kinetically dramatic, almost savage in some of its more forceful passages but lovingly caressed in its more lyric moments", while the

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

described it as "the most spectacular moment of the week". Pompa-Baldi has appeared at such venues as

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

and

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and Philanthropy, philanthropist whose donations assis ...

in New York, Cleveland's

Severance Hall Severance Hall, also known as Severance Music Center, is a concert hall in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio, home to the Cleveland Orchestra. Opened in 1931 to give the orchestra a permanent home, the building is n ...

, Paris'

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...

, Milan's Sala Verdi, Shanghai's Grand Theatre, and Boston's Symphony Hall. He has appeared as soloist with the

Houston Symphony The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

, Berliner Symphoniker, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra,

Pacific Symphony The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra based in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 1987 to 2016 ...

, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France,

Boston Pops The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...

, and Colorado Symphony, among many other orchestras. Among the conductors he has worked with are Theodore Kuchar,

, James Conlon,

Louis Lane Louis Gardner Lane (December 25, 1923 – February 15, 2016) was an American conductor. Born in Eagle Pass, Texas, Lane studied composition with Kent Kennan at the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his bachelor's in music degree in 1 ...

Keith Lockhart Keith Alan Lockhart (born November 7, 1959) is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina. Keith Lockhart, the conductor, is the brother of ...

, and

. After moving to the United States, Pompa-Baldi served on the piano faculty of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music; he now serves as distinguished professor of piano and head of the piano department at the

. He also serves as honorary guest professor of the

China Conservatory of Music The China Conservatory of Music (CCMusic; ) is a municipal music academy in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The school is affiliated with the City of Beijing, and co-funded by the Beijing Municipal People's Government and the Ministry of Culture an ...

, as well as honorary visiting professor of the Shenyang Conservatory of Music,

Wenzhou University Wenzhou University (WZU) is a municipal public university in Wenzhou, Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , imag ...

and

Guizhou Normal University Guizhou Normal University (GZNU; ) is a provincial research university in the historic "summer capital of China" in Guiyang, Guizhou province. It was established in 1941 as one of the original eight normal schools (teacher-training institutions) ...

. Pompa-Baldi regularly serves on the juries and faculties of prominent international piano competitions and festivals, including the Minnesota International Piano-e-Competition,

, Hilton Head International Piano Competition,

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with major orchestras around the world and appeared at many leading concert halls. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Phi ...

Shenzhen Futian International Piano Festival, San Jose International Piano Competition, Grieg International Piano Competition, and many others. He continues to maintain a busy performing schedule, regularly touring internationally as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician. His performance of

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

's Piano Sonata No. 2 (Op. 36), which he performed as part of a recital at Carnegie Hall, was described by ''

'' as "meltingly beautiful".

Discography

Pompa-Baldi has recorded more than 30 CDs for Centaur Records, the

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...

label, and

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also s ...

. For Centaur Records, he recorded the entire piano output of

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

, the

Josef Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was an organist and composer from Liechtenstein, residing in Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria for most of his life. As court conductor in Munich, he was responsible for the music in the ...

piano sonatas Opp. 47, 99. and 135, a Schumann album, a Rachmaninoff album, and the complete Hummel piano sonatas. He also recorded a Brahms CD for Azica, and is featured on a Harmonia Mundi CD of live performances from the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. For the Steinway label, he recorded a CD of songs by

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

, which he arranged, as well as

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...

, elaborated for piano solo by the Italian composer Roberto Piana. A second Steinway label CD, titled "Napoli", features classic Neapolitan songs in the form of Improvisations elaborated by Roberto Piana. Additionally, for the Steinway label, Pompa-Baldi recorded three piano sonatas of Mozart. Pompa-Baldi is also one of the most prolific recording artists for the

Spirio catalogue.

Personal life

Pompa-Baldi lives with his wife, pianist Emanuela Friscioni, and their daughter in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

References

External links

Artist's website
* *
Artist's Spotify page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pompa-Baldi, Antonio 1974 births People from Foggia Italian classical pianists Italian male classical pianists Italian male pianists Living people Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition prize-winners Cleveland International Piano Competition prize-winners Prize-winners of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Cleveland Institute of Music faculty 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Italian male musicians Centaur Records artists Harmonia Mundi artists