Joseph Emil Villa (August 9, 1948 – April 13, 1995) was an American pianist. He was born in

Garfield, New Jersey Garfield is a city (New Jersey), city in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 30,487,Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

under

Sascha Gorodnitzki Sascha Gorodnitzki (24 May 19044 April 1986) was an American concert pianist, recording artist and pedagogue at the Juilliard School of Music. Biography Early life and education Born in Kyiv, Russian Empire Gorodnitzki emigrated as an infant ...

and made his recital debut at

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...

in 1972 with and all Liszt program. Many of his public appearances were as an accompanist for artists like soprano

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but refused to be limited to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

and violinist Eugene Fodor, and his high reputation rests on a small number of recordings, one of which was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque in 1978. Joseph specialized in the Romantic repertory. He made his first public appearance at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

at the age of ten. By the age of 18, he was touring extensively, accompanying violinist Joseph Fuchs. He won the 1968 Kosciuszko Foundation's annual Chopin Competition, as well as Liszt's Second Piano Concerto in A Major competition with the Juilliard Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall in 1970. In 1970, he appeared on the Piano Seminar series for the Juilliard Institute of Special Studies. Villa was also invited by Gyorgy Cziffra to perform at the Festival de la Chaise Dieu in France. On television, he's played programs such as CBC's Camera Three and NBC's Today Show. He worked at the University of Connecticut. Much of his praise comes from that of

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Bra ...

Alicia de Larrocha Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 192325 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist and composer. She was considered one of the great piano legends of the 20th century. Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", ''Time'' "o ...

, and

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

. Villa died on April 13, 1995, aged 46, at

Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New York d/b/a as Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers (Saint Vincent's, or SVCMC) was a healthcare system, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, locally referred to a ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. The cause was

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

, said Steven Gray, his companion.Staff
"Joseph Villa, Pianist, 46"
'

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', April 15, 1995. Accessed June 30, 2011. "Mr. Villa was born in Garfield, N.J., on Aug. 9, 1948, and studied at the Juilliard School with Sascha Gorodnitzki."''

References

Bibliography

* "Joseph Villa, Pianist, 46." Obituary in ''The New York Times.'' 15 April 1995. * Jim Beckerman. "Joseph Villa, Concert Pianist." Obituary in ''The Record'' (Bergen County, NJ). 15 April 1995. American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) Juilliard School alumni People from Garfield, New Jersey 1948 births 1995 deaths 20th-century classical pianists American gay musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century LGBT people {{US-classical-pianist-stub