Customer Reviews

Long Way From Normal

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The incomparable Awadagin Pratt did it again! This is truly a performance that leaves you slack-jawed in wonder. His incredible power and beautiful tone highlight the overall perfection of just about everything he plays. His fervent yet delicate emotions illustrate his obviously strong sense of the music's logic and meaning. All in all, it confirms this excellent impression: here is an artist who is not only enormously talented and creative, but also much more matured than his twenty-eight years age suggests. Pratt's rightful place in the vanguard of the world's greatest musicians is assured with every such magical performance.

Awadagin is truly a virtuoso who performed these timeless classical pieces with such passion and energy. His technique is perfect and his power is peerless. I'm a big fan of the great legendary Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter, and I think the performance of these pieces by Awadagin is definitely at the same level as Richter's.

Acclaimed pianist Awadagin Pratt, known for his unorthodox style -- he sits on a bench very low to the floor. He also eschews the traditional tuxedo in favor of brightly colored shirts and gives the old masters something beyond the standard treatment. However, it's his splendid performance that really counts. His astonishing brilliance and beauty, the romance and lyricism, the incredible technique and prodigious talent, and his superb and imaginative repertoire transport listeners, levitating them into a spiritual dimension, where materials are immaterial.

My family just had the opportunity to experience Awadagin live. No words can describe the talent he exhibits! This CD is what the title promises, "A Long Way From Normal!" The talent is far beyond normal! Listen to Awadagin only when you have the time to savor what he has to offer. END

I have heard many recordings made by those considered the finest pianists, as well as having had first hand experience in hearing several of them in actual performance. All that I can honestly say is that, Awadagin Pratt may well be the closest thing to Franz List reborn as we are going to get in this life. He plays from the heart and is not simply a technical wizard as are so many of today's generation of pianists. His interpretation and artistic expression are warm, passionate and sophisticated. Also, I have read the comments made by some reviewers relative to their opinions. Some of them are more than kind but others seem to be looking for excuses to criticize. To them I would simply say that, when they can produce music of this caliber then they have the right to such comments. Regardless of motives, the evaluation of musical artistry should be left to performing artists.

I enjoyed thoroughly all these pieces played by Awadagin. His interpretation is refreshing, his power is awesome, his tone is beautiful and his style is as smooth as silk.

Mr. Pratt is an exceptional performer with a talent for stylizing within the most heatedly virtuosic material. His willful manipulation of tempos and dynamics, his varied articulation, as well as astonishing brilliance and energy, made for a provocative, electrifying performance.

Anyone who has not heard African-American Awagadin Pratt is miss thrilling, spell-binding, piano playing. That's almost 'it' in a nut-shell. This giant of a man, plays with great power and does *pound*. Phrasing, nuances, architecture -- all are perfect, and he can play anything -- an accolade that applied to Jorge Bolet in the 20th Century, and can be said (IMO) of Santiago Rodriguez of living pianists. There are few CDs by Pratt; get them all. Try to hear him in Recital. You will be amazed and convinced. John Turner

Award-winning pianist Awadagin Pratt plays with a full-bodied intensity that can be at turns intimate and grandly heart-wrenching. It's truly a electrifying performance.

Browsing through the reviews for this CD, I was amused to see some disappointed beings who dealt Awadagin the ignominy of a 1 star review. My suspicion is that they looked at the cover and thought they were due some Jazz - what a shock it must have been to then be indecently ravaged by a mixture of Brahms, Franck, Liszt and Bach-Busoni.

Pratt had just won the Naumburg Competiion (which includes Stephen Hough among its laureates) when he made this recording.
Since then he has not quite managed to break into the top tier. Why? I believe one factor is his over reliance on a sort of mezzo piano monotone which I assume is meant to convey a sort of deep, ethereal meaningfulness to a piece, but it is easy to overdo it. Once the listener realises what he is trying to do, the effect is lost and it becomes frustratingly tedious. Having said that, there are moments here which suggest there is something special simmering beneath the dreadlocks - the opening of the Franck, for instance, evokes a spiritual atmosphere which few pianists achieve. Overall, though, no match for Kissin. Once again, there are splashes of brilliance in the ballades (opening of the 4th) but there is not the required consistency. The opening of the Chaconne baffles me - what odd phrasing! (I recommend Kissin, Pletnev and Michelangeli).

The Liszt shows what he is capable of, but beware the mezzo-piano factor. There was a day when I would've given this 4 stars but I have raised the bars. I'd like a more varied touch and conception from Pratt and hope that his latest Bach achieves this.