After a Reading of Liszt Antonio Pompa-Baldi

• 1 No. 12. Elegy in Memory of Franz Liszt 13:34
• 2 No. 1 in C Major, Op. 10, No. 1 02:02
• 3 No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 10, No. 2 01:34
• 4 No. 3 in E Major, Op. 10, No. 3 04:24
• 5 No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor Op. 10, No. 4 02:07
• 6 No. 5 in G-Flat Major, Op. 10, No. 5, Black Keys 01:45
• 7 No. 6 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 10, No. 6 03:41
• 8 No. 7 in C Major, Op. 10, No. 7 01:36
• 9 No. 8 in F Major, Op. 10, No. 8 02:25
• 10 No. 9 in F Minor, Op. 10, No. 9 02:16
• 11 No. 10 in A-Flat Major, Op. 10, No. 10 02:14
• 12 No. 11 in E-Flat Major, Op. 10, No. 11 02:34
• 13 No. 12 in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12, Revolutionary 02:43
• 14 Ballade No. 2 in B Minor, S171/R16 14:16
• 15 Verdi - Ernani: Paraphrase de concert, S432/R265 08:00
• 16 Apres une Lecture de Liszt 08:52
• Total Runtime 01:14:03

Info for After a Reading of Liszt

On this, his first album for the TwoPianists label, Antonio Pompa-Baldi brings together an exhilarating collage of works connected by the formidable Franz Liszt. First on the menu are the etudes of Sergei Lyapunov, also named Douze études d’exécution transcendante, Op. 11. Lyapunov’s intention was to ‘complete’ Liszt’s etudes, by writing pieces in the major and minor keys that Liszt never visited. The final piece of Lyapunov’s set—the etude recorded here—carries the title ‘Élégie en memoire de Franz Liszt’. It is a natural progression for the Lyapunov to be followed by the etudes of Frederic Chopin for, like Liszt, Chopin composed etudes for personal use as well as publication. And, again like Liszt, these etudes were not simply technical exercises, but instead surpassed their pedagogical origins by being presentable as concert pieces. Chopin’s Op.10 set, featured here, was dedicated to Franz Liszt. Next are two pieces by Franz Liszt himself: the Ballade no.2 and Ernani: Paraphrase de Concert. The latter work represents a marriage between showmanship and compositional craft, and as a result stands head and shoulders above the ‘Carnival of Venice’-style showpieces of the time. The final piece on this program is one that Paraphrase de concert, the selected themes will be a delight to the seasoned admirerof Liszt’s music: Après une Lecture de Liszt, by the Sardinian-born composer Roberto Piana (b. 1971). In Après une Lecture de Liszt, Piana pays tribute to the immense influence of Franz Liszt on the modern pianist, by means of extensive quotation from some of the composer’s most important piano works. This work was dedicated to Antonio Pompa-Baldi and receives here its debut recording.

Antonio Pompa-Baldi, piano

Recorded at Stellenbosch on 30 June 2013

Antonio Pompa-Baldi
Born and raised in Foggia, Italy, Antonio Pompa-Baldi won the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1999 and embarked on a career that continues to extend across five continents. A top prize winner at the 1998 Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition of Paris, France, Antonio Pompa-Baldi also won a silver medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Mr. Pompa-Baldi appears regularly at the world's major concert venues including New York's Carnegie Hall, Cleveland's Severance Hall, Milan's Sala Verdi, Boston's Symphony Hall, and Paris' Salle Pleyel, to name a few.

He has collaborated with leading conductors including Hans Graf, James Conlon, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, and Keith Lockhart, performing with the Houston Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Berliner Symphoniker, Orchestre National de Paris-Radio France, National Orchestra of Ukraine, Fort Worth Symphony, among many others.

Notable recital engagements took place in Beijing, Seoul , Paris, London, Chicago, and Houston. Among recent orchestral appearances, Mr. Pompa- Baldi performed with the Santo Domingo Festival Orchestra under Maestro Benjamin Zander, the National Symphony of Ecuador, and the Johannesburg and Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestras in South Africa. Last season's recitals included Nancy (France), Cleveland (OH), San Francisco (Liszt Society Festival), Hong Kong, and Macao.

Upcoming engagements include a recital in Fort Worth, TX, in memory of Van Cliburn, performances with the Eugene Symphony, OR, the Nova Scotia Symphony (Canada), and the Cheyenne Symphony, a tour of South Africa, including appearances with the Johannesburg and Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestras, and recitals in Jerusalem, San Jose, Cleveland, Poland, and China.

Mr. Pompa-Baldi's recording catalogue features an all-Brahms disc (Azica), and a recital from his Cliburn Competition performances (Harmonia Mundi).

He has recorded 17 CDs for Centaur Records: the Josef Rheinberger Piano Sonatas; the entire piano output of Edward Grieg, in 12 volumes; an all-Rachmaninoff CD; an all-Schumann album; a live recital in Cleveland; and the first volume of the Hummel Piano Sonatas.

Soon-to-be-released by Centaur is the second volume of the Hummel Sonatas.

Mr. Pompa-Baldi was recently recorded live in recital at the Stellenbosch Conservatory, South Africa, in a program including, among others, the complete set of Chopin's Etudes Op.10. This CD will soon be released by the TwoPianists label.

For the Steinway label, Pompa-Baldi recorded a disc of songs by Francis Poulenc and Edith Piaf, arranged for solo piano, to commemorate the 50th year of the passing of both French musical icons. The album, titled "The Rascal and the Sparrow: Poulenc meets Piaf", released in September 2013, received unanimous praise in Classical Music's most esteemed review sites.

Mr. Pompa-Baldi has been seen and heard many times on French National Television, Radio-France, Ukrainian National Television, Cleveland's WCLV, Boston's WGBH, and National Public Radio's "Performance Today". He was featured in the PBS documentary on the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition "Playing on the Edge", which premiered in October 2001 in USA and Canada.

Mr. Pompa-Baldi appeared again on PBS in the documentary "Concerto: A sense of Self", featuring his performance of Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and James Conlon. This performance was also seen on French National Television in May, 2003, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Prokofiev's death, as well as throughout Europe.

Antonio Pompa-Baldi is a Steinway Artist. He serves as Distinguished Professor of Piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and gives master- classes around the world, both in conjunction with his performing engagements, and at summer festivals including Piano Fest in the Hamptons, TCU-Cliburn Institute, Southeastern Piano Festival (University of South Carolina School of Music), Paisiello Academy (Lucera, Italy), Amalfi Coast Festival, and Napolinova Academy (Naples, Italy). He helped found the Academia Manuel Rueda in Santo Domingo, where he also gives regular masterclasses.

He is often invited to judge international piano competitions, and has served as president of the jury for the San Jose International Piano Competition, CA since 2006. His students have been prizewinners in important competitions such as Marguerite Long, Hilton Head, José Iturbi, Isang Yun, and Gina Bachauer.

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