Chopin Salon @ Home: Antonio Pompa-Baldi
Until we can see you again at our live events, we are pleased to present the Chopin Salons @ Home. We sincerely hope that all of our members and subscribers are keeping safe and healthy, and we invite you to enjoy these specially curated programs online, at home, and at your convenience. [HINT: when watching the videos, click on “settings” and under “Quality” select the highest option.]
You may think that the main reason pianists are attracted to competitions is for the “fame and fortune.” But often times contestants will mention that it is their respect for who is serving on the jury that attracts them to a particular event. The National Chopin Competition has been fortunate to have had scores of renowned and respected artists serve on the jury over the course of its 45 year history. The 2020 Competition was no exception. This week we spoke with jury member Antonio Pompa-Baldi, a brilliant pianist and awarded veteran of many top competitions.
Let’s start with a Chopin performance by Mr. Pompa-Baldi that was recorded during the opening concert of the 69th International Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland:
It all starts in Poland
“The Chopin Etudes are from a live, unedited performance at the Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdrój, Poland. Chopin himself performed there, as a young man. It was a wonderful experience to play there,” said Antonio. An interesting fact about this video is that it almost didn’t exist. The performance was being recorded for radio (which is why the sound quality is so good), but the camera was being used simply to broadcast the performance on a screen outside the hall. Mr. Pompa-Baldi had the good thought to ask the camera person to hit “record” so he was able to get a copy!
Coincidentally, this well known Chopin Festival kicks off its 75th Season this week (August 7, 2020) with the winner of the 2010 International Chopin Piano Competition, Yulianna Avdeeva. You may have seen Ms. Avdeeva’s Miami performance debut this past February during our US Competition. The Chopin Festival in Duszniki concludes this year on August 15 with a performance by Kevin Kenner - the Chairman of our 2020 jury. You can see this year’s schedule for the Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdrój HERE.
UPDATE for 2022 Chopin Festival HERE
The Competition Experience
Competitions by their very nature are designed to celebrate the winners, but each competitor at the 2020 Chopin Competition offered their unique contribution to the event. [All 25 performances from the Preliminary Round of the 2020 Competition are now available on our YouTube Channel] It is interesting to learn the perspective of the contestants, and to understand the mindset of the jurors. We asked Mr. Pompa-Baldi for his competition philosophy:
“When I was a contestant in the Cleveland and Van Cliburn Competitions, for me the most important thing was to not allow the context to influence me or my playing. I truly tried to approach these as concerts, playing for an audience and not thinking about whether some of my more personal choices might be disliked by jury members and might cause my elimination. I did not want any part of that thinking. I also intensely disliked the idea of competing “against” anyone. I only competed with myself, to play as well as I could, and using the energy of the moment to play even better than I could.”
“My focus as a jury member in general is not much different. I feel sometimes disappointed that some true artistic personalities are voted down by very “conservative” judges. Of course, eccentricity is not the same as individuality or originality, but I am always intrigued by people who do make distinctive choices, and share them with courage and conviction. It was no different at the Chopin Competition. The level was of course very high, but I always feel very happy when I hear a contestant, or a small group of contestants in this case, who possess an individual voice.”
Music for Today
We never imagined that the 2020 National Chopin Piano Competition would immediately be followed by a pandemic which has essentially put our live concert programming on hold. But here we are 5 months later and the Chopin Foundation remains steadfast in its mission. We are grateful to be able to collaborate with pianists like Antonio Pompa-Baldi who are making great strides in keeping classical music alive.
“I’m glad the pandemic did not arrive earlier than it did, or we would not have been able to have the competition! I used this time [during the pandemic] to be very productive, making recordings for CDs and for the Steinway Spirio, catalog, teaching online masterclasses and workshops, learning new repertoire, and even arranging some of my favorite music. Speaking of which, the video you see here is one of my own transcription of the Respighi Sonata in B minor, originally for violin and piano. Usually, transcriptions are of “lighter” fare, but this is more in the vein of the Cortot-Franck violin sonata. It’s great music, and my hope is people will think I did the piece justice, in this new version.”
When asked about his process for writing these transcriptions, Antonio replied, “Sometimes, a work I love keeps coming into my head as a solo piano piece. If and when I have the time, I sit down with the score, and start writing it as I hear it. Then, when I go to the piano to try it out, I make changes as needed, because maybe what I wrote is nearly unplayable, or not idiomatic enough. I do try to stay as close as possible to the original. I do rely on big hand span, and in this case, extensive use of the sostenuto pedal.”
An Exciting Encore
Finally, we asked Mr. Pompa-Baldi to conclude our episode with an example of a performance he loves. To our delight, he chose Arturo Benedetti-Michelangeli playing Scarlatti. “Michelangeli was the epitome of perfectionism among perfectionists.”
We were very fortunate to have Antonio Pompa-Baldi on our jury in Miami this year. You can keep up with him on Facebook HERE.
Thank you for joining us for the Chopin Salons @ Home.
Please let us know what you think: info@chopin.org
Chopin Foundation programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; and the City of Coral Gables. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Funding Arts Broward; the Miami Salon Group; and scores of generous donors.