MUSIC OF MY LIFE

INTERVIEW BY JEREMY NICHOLAS

Prophetic playing

Antonio Pompa-Baldi reveals the recordings that transport him to another world

Aldo Ciccolini was my former teacher and one of my most important inuences. His recording of the Franck solo pieces, which I had on cassette, was an unbelievable listening experience. e Prélude, Choral et Fugue was one of my favourite works and Ciccolini always had an organ-like quality to his sound. Later, when I studied with him – I was 18 or 19 – I noticed he played more like an organist, technically speaking, relying on nger substitution and legato notes. So, with this music and that sound I found myself transported to a big cathedral. Especially in the Prélude, it’s like a tormented soul seeking redemption. You hear the wrath of God but also the most satisfying catharsis in the end. It was really a spiritual experience. I have listened to that recording hundreds of times. When I was growing up in my hometown [Foggia, Italy] we had no classical music store and my teacher would only allow us to listen to two pianists: Michelangeli and Pollini. Pollini was a superlative pianist but Michelangeli was superhuman. He was like a mythological gure to a child. e custodian at my local library befriended me and, seeing how passionate I was, made me an illegal copy of Michelangeli playing the Ravel concerto for my cassette player. ere was also Rachmaninov’s Fourth, but it was the Ravel that enchanted me, especially the second movement. I don’t think anyone has ever come close to playing it as well as Michelangeli. I have played the concerto many times since and I understand his incredible physical control of the keyboard. Time really does stand still when you hear this recording.

Talking of Rach 4, I discovered this next recording much later. Cassettes had disappeared so I heard it on CD. Michelangeli’s

90 January 2020 International Piano performance of Rach 4 was technically perfect as always, but it fails to capture the passionate side. Vásáry’s playing represents – how can I say this? – the triumph of the common man. Although Vásáry is a lesser artist than Michelangeli, he is nevertheless an excellent pianist. His tempos are much slower than usual, making you feel every twist and turn, every modulation, and all the lyricism. He has the sound to go with it, too. I nd his performance very moving, especially the second movement. Now I know the Glenn Gould Goldberg (his rst recording, not the second) is an obvious choice, but I didn’t know it till I was about 18. I went to a summer camp near Rouen and met kids my age who were more sophisticated and knowledgeable than me. One of them lent me Gould’s 1955 recording. I had a portable CD player and listened to it in my room. It electried me – I found it shocking to the core. I could not sleep that night and missed my lesson the next day. I could not believe my ears! Its sheer perfection and energy are astounding. It reminds me of ice sculptures – not because it is devoid of emotion but because everything is so transparent. Dominique Merlet is a fantastic artist: a pianist and organist who taught at the Paris Conservatoire. He won rst prize at the Geneva Competition in 1957 with Martha Argerich when he was 19 and Martha 16. I didn’t know any of this when I went to Paris in December 1998 to compete in the Marguerite Long Competition. I went to FNAC on the ChampsÉlysées and this CD of Merlet playing Fauré

had just been released. I heard a bit of it in the store, and I bought it and fell in love with it. e rst track is the solo version of the Ballade. I have never heard it played so beautifully. It is a perfect balance of the emotional and the intellectual, or the spiritual and the learned. He’s completely unaected, never sentimental, but expressive in the simplest way, revealing that mystery and wonder. A prophet for this music. It’s like what Cortot once said of Schumann: ‘Question the future’. IP

Franck Prélude, Choral et Fugue Aldo Ciccolini Warner Classics 7645612 Ravel Piano Concerto in G major Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli; Philharmonia Orchestra/Ettore Gracis Warner Classics 2435672382

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 4 Tamás Vásáry; London Symphony Orchestra/Yuri Ahronovitch DG 4793631

JS Bach Goldberg Variations Glenn Gould Sony 88697806062

Fauré Ballade Op 19 Dominique Merlet Mandala MAN 4933

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