Anton Angelo

I was born in Moscow, Russia. I have to credit my mother for taking me to the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory for many classical concerts. I hated it in the beginning, but she wisely ignored my objections until I acquired a taste for classical music—and then there was no turning back. I begged her to buy a record player and got one for my birthday. Since then, I have spent every penny of my lunch allowance on LPs at a local Melodiya shop. I took piano lessons but soon realized that being a pianist was not in the cards. I could always tell if somebody played a wrong note, but couldn’t play the right notes myself.

In high school, I started a classical music magazine with my classmates who shared my enthusiasm for Bach and Shostakovich. It was similar to Fanfare but with a slightly smaller circulation (maybe six or seven copies, produced on a typewriter). One of the highlights of my life was attending the famed Horowitz in Moscow concert. It was impossible to get a ticket, so my aforementioned friends and I sneaked through the police cordons, ran past the unsuspecting ushers, and disappeared into the crowd. To the credit of the Soviet Militsiya, they did not attempt to remove any perpetrators and let us enjoy the show.

I earned my master’s degree in psychology from Moscow State University, but I was far more interested in music. I educated myself in music history and theory by reading books and magazines. I loved my family and friends but hated cold weather, vodka, and dictatorships, so at the dawn of Perestroika I escaped to the USA via student exchange.

A maverick by nature, I lived in many places and held dozens of jobs, including a network administrator, English as a Second Language teacher in Thailand and China, music store manager, underwater camera salesman, and web designer. Regardless of my day jobs, my passion for music remained constant throughout my life. While moonlighting as a Tower Records sales clerk in Philadelphia, I met many wonderful musicians, including Murray Perahia, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Christoph Eschenbach, and many Philadelphia Orchestra players. Some were so impressed by my knowledge and enthusiasm that they got me involved in producing of several CDs for various independent labels. Later, I landed a gig as a resident program note writer for the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. My other passion is writing, and I have penned a wine tasting book and a sci-fi novel, along with several CD liner notes. Being a Fanfare reviewer allows me to combine my two greatest passions, and I couldn’t ask for more. Some say that writing about music is like dancing about architecture, so I’m here to prove them all wrong. Next on my to-do list: take dance lessons and learn more about architecture.