Charisse Baldoria
Pianist, Composer, Writer
Prizewinner of international piano competitions, Charisse Baldoria has performed on five continents and draws upon her Southeast Asian and Hispanic heritage in her music. Her newest album, Godowsky in Asia, features the complete Java Suite and other Asia-inspired works. Gamelan on Piano presents world-premiere recordings of works by Filipino composer Ramon P. Santos, and other composers inspired by Southeast Asian gong-chime traditions. Evocación showcases music inspired by flamenco and tango. She has collaborated with dancers, visual artists, performance artists, and musicians from various traditions.
As a composer, her works have been performed around the US and abroad. Her song cycles and solo piano compositions draw from literature, improvisation, jazz, Latin music, popular music, gamelan, and Western styles.
A finalist of the 2023 DISQUIET Literary Prize in nonfiction and on its fiction shortlist in 2024, her prose and poetry appear in CutBank, Passengers, The Good Life Review, Windmill: The Hofstra Journal of Literature & Art, and others. Her work has or will receive support from VONA, the DISQUIET International Literary Program, and Kenyon Review.
Albums
Godowsky in Asia
New release
In 1923, virtuoso pianist-composer Leopold Godowsky visited the island of Java during a concert tour around Asia. Fascinated by Javanese music, culture, and landscapes, he composed the monumental Java Suite, a suite of 12 movements for solo piano. Almost a century later, during the pandemic, pianist-composer Charisse Baldoria recorded it on her 1928 Steinway L, along with other Godowsky works inspired by non-Western cultures.
Gamelan on Piano
"Rarely has the piano’s staggering range of sonic texture been so aptly explored as pianist Charisse Baldoria does on this most unique project." (Morning Call)
"Impressive, sensitive performances…" (Fanfare)
Inspired by the gong-chime music of Indonesia and the Philippines, this album features works for solo piano and chamber music by composers from Europe, North America, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Includes the music of Debussy, Godowsky, Lou Harrison, Colin McPhee, Gareth Farr, and the world premiere recording of Philippine National Artist Ramon P. Santos' Gong-An suite (world premiere).
Evocación
"…Her playing of standard works is equal to that of the artists who have preceded her…" (Fanfare)
"Like Yuja Wang, Baldoria is petite but possessed of a strong, confident technique…" (Fanfare)
Evocación is a summoning of passion, memory, and the imagination. From Falla's flamenco fantasy to Piazzolla's intoxicating tangos, from Albéniz' virtuoso portraits of Spain to Scarlatti and Buencamino's Spanish and Argentine transformations, this album of dance and song seeks to evoke time and place, memory and experience--both real and imagined.
Live Performances
Charisse Baldoria plays Godowksy's Java Suite (live in concert), Books 1 & 2
Alchemy (Denise Levertov Songs) by Charisse Baldoria (Louisville concert)
Fantasia Baetica by Manuel de Falla. Charisse Baldoria, piano
Alchemy (Orlando performance) (Denise Levertov Songs) by Charisse Baldoria; Jordan Markham, baritone
Alchemy (Denise Levertov Songs), a song cycle by Charisse Baldoria
Piano, Poetry, Drawing, Dance: Music by Debussy, Santos, and Farr. Charisse Baldoria, piano
Charisse Baldoria plays Oblivion by Piazzolla (arr. for solo piano by Kyoko Yamamoto)
Albéniz, El Corpus en Sevilla (Iberia) - Charisse Baldoria, piano
Events
Sat, Nov 06Moravian CollegeNov 06, 2021, 8:30 AMMoravian College, 1200 Main St, Bethlehem, PA 18018, USA
Mon, Oct 25Gorrell Recital Hall, Indiana UniversityOct 25, 2021, 8:00 PM EDTGorrell Recital Hall, Indiana University, 414 S 11th St, Indiana, PA 15701, USA
Sun, Oct 24Gorrell Recital Hall, Indiana UniversityOct 24, 2021, 8:00 PM EDTGorrell Recital Hall, Indiana University, 414 S 11th St, Indiana, PA 15701, USA
Sat, Oct 16Riley AuditoriumOct 16, 2021, 1:00 PM EDTRiley Auditorium, 170 W Park St, Westerville, OH 43081, USA
Fri, Oct 15Riley AuditoriumOct 15, 2021, 7:30 PM EDTRiley Auditorium, 170 W Park St, Westerville, OH 43081, USA
Sat, Oct 09Robert M. Sides Family Music CenterOct 09, 2021, 1:00 PM EDTRobert M. Sides Family Music Center, 201 Mulberry St, Williamsport, PA 17701, USA
Thu, Oct 07Mitrani Hall, Hass Center for the ArtsOct 07, 2021, 7:30 PMMitrani Hall, Hass Center for the Arts, Bloomsburg, PA 17815, USA
Sat, Mar 28Cornish College of the Arts - Kerry HallMar 28, 2020, 3:15 PM PDTCornish College of the Arts - Kerry Hall, 710 E Roy St, Seattle, WA 98102, USAMar 28, 2020, 3:15 PM PDTCornish College of the Arts - Kerry Hall, 710 E Roy St, Seattle, WA 98102, USADr. Baldoria will present a paper on virtuoso pianist-composer's Leopold Godowky's time in Asia in the 1920s, titled "Godowsky in Asia: Concerts in Japan, China, and Colonial Southeast Asia." [CANCELED due to the Coronavirus]
Sat, Mar 28Cornish College of the Arts - Kerry HallMar 28, 2020, 1:30 PM PDTCornish College of the Arts - Kerry Hall, 710 E Roy St, Seattle, WA 98102, USA
Thu, Mar 26University of Puget Sound Music BuildingMar 26, 2020, 6:00 PM PDTUniversity of Puget Sound Music Building, 1500 N Warner St, Tacoma, WA 98416, USA
Photography
Charisse's wanderlust, passion for culture, love of nature, and penchant for freezing moments into still images led to cultivating a photography hobby over the decades. Learning from a fully manual Canon F-1 SLR, she worked with slide, color, and black-and-white film before turning digital. The following are samples of her digital endeavors. Please check back for more.
Contact
Would love to hear from you!
