Antonio Pompa-Baldi

Distinguished Professor of Piano

Cleveland Institute of Music

United States

Professional Summary

Born and raised in Foggia , Italy , Antonio Pompa-Baldi first came to the U.S. in 1999 to participate in the Cleveland International Piano Competition. He won the First Prize, and, while fulfilling all the engagements that came with it, he and his wife, Italian pianist Emanuela Friscioni, decided to make Cleveland their home. 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, as well as the Award for the Best Performance of a New Work.Mr. Pompa-Baldi has toured extensively in four continents, bringing his assured touch on the keyboard to some of the world's major concert venues including Cleveland's Severance Hall, Milan's Sala Verdi, Naples' Teatro Diana, New York's Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall, and Paris' Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau, Salle Pleyel, Theatre des Champs-Elysees and Théâtre du Châtelet.Mr. Pompa-Baldi's recent engagements include a triumphant debut in Beijing , China : after a recital in the Forbidden City Concert Hall, and Master Classes at the China National Conservatory, he was named Honorary Guest Professor of that Institution; a highly acclaimed recital in London , England , and a performance with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in Kiev . Mr. Pompa-Baldi also made orchestral and solo debuts at Carnegie Hall, respectively in Isaac Stern Auditorium and Zankel Hall, as well as appearances with the Houston Symphony, Berliner Symphoniker (in Tokyo, Japan), Colorado Symphony, North Carolina, Peoria, and Duluth Symphony Orchestras, Rochester Philharmonic, Jacksonville Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia (New Zealand), Kansas City Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Cleveland Pops, National Orchestra of Santo Domingo, Symphony of the Americas (Ft. Lauderdale), and Canton Symphony. He also performed recitals in cities such as Seoul , Paris (Chopin Festival), Chicago, Ravinia, Houston (Texas Music Festival), Portland (OR), Sacramento , Fort Worth (Cliburn Series), Salt Lake City (Assembly Hall), and Duszniki Zdroj , Poland (Chopin Festival).Antonio Pompa-Baldi has collaborated with leading conductors including Hans Graf, James Conlon, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Keith Lockhart, Christopher Seaman, Fabio Mechetti, Daniel Hege, Louis Lane, Pascal Rophe', and Stefan Sanderling, appearing with the Boston Pops, the Pacific Symphony, the Orchestre Philarmonique de Metz (France), the Orchestre National de Paris-Radio France, as well as the Symphony Orchestras of Fort Worth, Syracuse, Columbus, Charleston, Southwest Florida, and Spokane. Other notable recital engagements include Bologna , Minneapolis , New Orleans , Philadelphia , Pittsburgh , San Antonio , Hartford , Miami and San Juan .A passionate chamber musician, Antonio Pompa-Baldi is a frequent guest at events like the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, the Music in the Mountains Festival (Durango, CO), and the Fort Worth Chamber Music Society Series among others, collaborating with such ensembles as the Avalon String Quartet, the Takacs String Quartet, and distinguished colleagues including violinist Elmar Oliveira.Among the 07-08 season's engagements, Mr. Pompa-Baldi played with the West Virginia, Oregon State, and Columbus Symphonies, as well as recital engagements in London, England, Milan, Italy, Sarasota, Fort Worth, Denver.Fulfilling this summer’s engagements, Mr. Pompa-Baldi served as President of the Jury for the 9th International Russian Music Piano Competition in San Jose, CA, and will teach at Pianofest in the Hamptons, as well as conduct his annual 10-day international workshop at the Napolinova Academy in Napoli, Italy in July. Recitals and Masterclasses in several Italian cities are also on his calendar.Upcoming orchestral engagements include performances with the National Orchestra of the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo, North Carolina Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Brevard Symphony (Melbourne, FL), Erie Philharmonic, and Great Falls Symphony. Recital engagements include Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Scottsdale, Cleveland, Santa Rosa, and Southampton.Mr. Pompa-Baldi's recordings include an all-Brahms disc (Azica), a live and unedited recital from his award-winning Cliburn Competition performances (Harmonia Mundi), and the Josef Rheinberger piano sonatas for Centaur Records. He is in the process of recording Edward Grieg's entire output for piano, also for Centaur Records. The first 10 volumes of this series have already been released to great acclaim.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", and appeared 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", featuring his performance of Prokofiev's Concerto #3 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), and Napolinova Academy (Naples, Italy). Mr. Pompa-Baldi is often invited to judge international piano competitions. He lives in Shaker Heights with his wife, Emanuela, and their daughter, Eleanor.

Skills

Specialization

Piano Performance, Concert Pianist