Antonio Pompa-Baldi, award-winning concert pianist and President of Jury at SJIPC, stunned everyone with his breathtaking performane of the San Jose International Piano Competition's opening concert "A Night in Napoli". The concert's title stemmed from Pompa-Baldi's memorable performance of selections from Roberto Piana's arrangement of famous Neapolitan Songs. SJIPC had an Order of Performance Draw for the contestants of the competition, 26 incredibly talented and hardworking young musicians, right before the concert. The contestants will be showcasing their work in the three rounds of the competition Monday-Thursday, and then the final round on Saturday. You can watch a livestream of the competition HERE. By attracting peformers and audiences to San José for the last 19 years, SJIPC helps develop the city as a cultural center for the performing arts (Sam T. Liccardo).
Coming back to "A Night in Napol", the program included a perfect blend of contrasting pieces from Chopin, Liszt, Poulenc, and Roberto Piana. The entire evening, although fantastic, was very demanding for one performer. This, of course, did not take away from the audience's enjoyment of the concert any bit. In fact, it only added to the positive impression the evening left. Pompa-Baldi opened with Chopin's glorious masterpiece, Sonata Op. 35 No. 2 in Bb minor, followed by Liszt's Ballad No.2 in B minor and Tarantella from "Venezia e Napoli", which was followed by 3 elaborations on Neapolitan Songs by Roberto Piana, and the Suite Napoli by Poulenc.
Pompa-Baldi's virtuosic technique - atlthough expected (I've heard Pompa-Baldi perform before!) - once again did not cease to impress and shock the stunned audience. But regardless, his interpretations and intonations were mainly in the foreground of the evening, supported by virtuosity and elegance in presentation. The beautiful variations of the Neapolitan song arrangements by Piana were interesting and original, in both their nature and Pompa-Baldi's performance of them. These were a selection from Pompa-Baldi's most recent recording, Napoli, which was also being sold after the concert in the lobby. Click HERE if you're interested in listening/purchasing. For the highly demanded encore, Pompa-Baldi performed a Debussy Prelude and another variation by Roberto Piana, Piazzolla's Oblivion. 
For me, this concert had significant sentimental value, because I remember being 6 and coming to the opening concert of the same competition and listening to Antonio Pompa-Baldi performing. It was just as exhilerating then as it was last night, and I am honoured to have gotten the opportunity to experience the magic again!
Don't forget to tune in for the livestream of the compeition, and stay tuned for more posts on The Freako Diva! You can find a list of past competition winners here, and a list of the Jury members here.
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