On a Friday afternoon in the MarAbel B. Frohnmayer Music Building, students can be found practicing instruments, studying in a hallway or talking with one another. Fluent piano sounds spread across the hallway of the second floor where some of the professors’ offices are located. In Professor Alexandre Dossin’s room, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, head of the piano department at the Cleveland Institute of Music in Ohio, awaits his performance.
Pompa-Baldi visited Eugene last week, holding a master class on March 14 and performing on March 15 as part of the Murdock International Piano Series, named after James and Marilyn Murdock, presented by the Oregon Piano Institute at the Beall Concert Hall. He flew into Eugene on Thursday morning and practiced in Dossin’s office as he prepared for his concert. Dossin is the artistic director and co-founder of the Oregon Piano Institute. Although Pompa-Baldi’s musical expertise has claimed him award-winning status as a pianist, he still practices whenever he gets a chance.
“Actually, no one in my family plays an instrument,” Pompa-Baldi said. He discovered his love for music when he was three years old. He was watching a piano performance on national television at his home in Italy, and when the performance was over, his family said he started crying. He wanted more. At the time, his parents did not take it seriously, but soon after, Pompa-Baldi started asking for a piano. His parents gave him a keyboard, but they had no idea then that he would turn into a world-level, award-winning pianist who performs across the world.
Pompa-Baldi credits his first piano teacher for helping him develop his love of music. He said that musicians often focus on discipline or techniques and not on their passion for the instrument. By focusing first on his love of music, Pompa-Baldi was able to deepen his skills and explore music.
Pompa-Baldi first came to the United States to compete at the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1999; this started his life in the U.S. as a pianist.
“I felt like a fish out of water,” he said. However, because he didn’t immediately feel integrated in a community in the U.S., he was able to focus on practicing piano. After winning his first prize, he started performing at many concerts and competing at well-known competitions. Then, professional opportunities arose that led him to stay in the U.S.
On Thursday at Beall Concert Hall, Pompa-Baldi performed two pieces written by Italian composers. The first song he performed, “Glances on the Divine Comedy” by Roberto Piana, was written in 2021 for the 700-year anniversary of the passing of Dante Alighieri, who is “the one or if not the most famous poet in Italy,” Pompa-Baldi said.
Jason Wang, a visiting scholar from China in the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, heard about the concert from his friend who majors in piano at UO. He was told that Pompa-Baldi’s prestige would draw the whole UO keyboard program to the audience. Wang said he rarely saw concerts in China because of the expense, but concerts held at UO tend to be free or discounted with a student ID, and the location is convenient for him and many other students. “I only have one year, so I need to cherish every moment,” he said.
Wang said he has fundamental skills and knowledge of piano and said, “I can tell from the response from the audiences and the size of the audience that it was the best among all the concerts I’ve been to.”
Pompa-Baldi said he sees music as an international language and that the audience plays an important role in the musical experience. “As an Italian, I love music from Greece,” he said. “Things like that can happen. When you travel, you see more things and it strengthens, and nurtures your imagination further.”
The Murdock International Piano Series will have its last concert of the year with Valery Kuleshov on May 28, as the completion of the three major concerts across the series.
