A piano virtuoso Angelo Rondello gave his first concert in Chicago – by Natalia Dagenhart

                On June 4, one of the most talented American pianists, Angelo Rondello, presented his first recital in Chicago. It took place at the spectacular Preston Bradley Hall that is located in the Chicago Cultural Center. This concert was presented as part of the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts that take place at the Preston Bradley Hall every Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. free of charge.

                These concerts are generously sponsored by an anonymous family foundation, the Peggy & Steve Fossett Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation, the Sage Foundation, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, and the Union League Club of Chicago.

                The International Music Foundation has provided these concerts since 1977 for people of all ages and degrees of musical awareness. Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series are named after Myra Hess, British pianist, who became especially popular during World War II when she organized thousands of lunchtime concerts and participated in 150 of them. During those difficult times, Myra morally supported thousands of people by her fantastic presentations. In 1941 King George VI awarded her with the Dame Commander of the British Empire.

                It makes a lot of sense that a talented pianist of the 21st century, Angelo Rondello, participated in the concerts series named after such a brilliant pianist of the 20th century, Myra Hess. Both of them carry the same idea of enriching people’s lives and maintaining morale through the means of piano music.

                I was pleasantly surprised when Angelo contacted me and asked me to write about his performance in Chicago. Most of my articles are about the musicians from the Chicago area, and being contacted by such a talented pianist from Seattle was an honor for me. Of course, I agreed to write an overview of his performance and gladly attended it.

                As a former piano player, I know how difficult it is to study new musical material, memorize it and then put a lot of effort in delivering the sense and the mood of the music to the audience. It is a complicated process that requires a lot of work, patience and talent. I wanted to see Angelo’s performance – the result of his hard and tedious work.  

                And Angelo met my high expectations. The concert was great. Angelo warmly greeted the public and started playing. After the first few notes I forgot where I was and what I was doing. I became part of that great mystery – classical piano music. The way Angelo was approaching every sound made the Preston Bradley Hall a little oasis of peace, comfort and elegance. His performance made me forget about all problems, and even the rainy weather didn’t matter anymore. For the next forty-five minutes everyone in the audience was caught in the kingdom of musical beauty and talent.

                The first composition that Angelo presented to the public was Images, Book 1 (16’) by a popular French composer Claude Debussy. The first movement, called Reflets dans l’eau, immediately demonstrated Angelo’s great piano technique and his perception of this sensitive and elegant piece. He lived in the music; the way he touched the piano keys was so gentle and professional that the audience literally could hear the drops of water falling out of his fingers.

                When the first movement was over, Angelo sat there for a minute or two taking his time before he started playing the next part of the composition. The second movement of Images, called Hommage a Rameau, impressed and touched me. Each note that Angelo produced was full of deep sense and hidden emotion. In this piece, Debussy depicted the ancient by using “a tonal language which was completely modern at the time – rife with whole-tone and octatonic harmony”. Angelo was great in performing this movement.

               The third part of Images, called Mouvement, reminded me of underground water – full of energy and hidden excitement. In this piece, Debussy used not only pentatonic scales that revealed the Far Eastern influence in his music, but also whole tone scales, bi-tonality (different scales simultaneously) and parallel 7th chords. Angelo presented this piece in a brilliant manner and with great mastership.

               The next composition that Angelo presented was Bagatelle sans tonalite, S. 216a (3’) written by a popular Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. This piece impressed me by its unusual character and uncertainty presented by rapid oscillation between keys. Liszt wrote it in 1885, one year before his death, and probably this music can be a great example of what a person can feel at the end of life. The piece started with a feeling of uncertainty, and then it became full of growing tension that was followed by calm melodies. After that the music again started to sound uncertain. The piece ended “on a diminished chord, leaving the listener hanging.”

               And the last great composition, which Angelo presented to the public that day, was Apres une Lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata (17’) by Franz Liszt. This technically challenging piece made the piano sound as a full orchestra and brightly demonstrated Angelo’s phenomenal piano playing skills. In this composition, the author “takes the listener along on Dante’s journey through hell” and shows good and evil by using different techniques and characteristics. This piece was so impressive and emotional that the audience gave Angelo a standing ovation.

               When the concert was over, many people were so inspired by the performance of this great pianist that they came to Angelo to shake his hand, ask questions and tell him a few words of admiration. Such a pleasant and meaningful event for our city! Chicago congratulates Angelo Rondello with his first recital in Chicago and hopes to see this great pianist again very soon!

Natalia Dagenhart