Customer Reviews

Piano Sonatas 7, 9, 30 & 31

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

It could be argued that the world does not 'need' more Beethoven piano recordings -- especially the Sonatas, at a time when pianists good, bad, & mediocre have recorded not just one, but even two, three, and four complete sets. Not to mention those non-Beethoven 'specialists' who recorded several, often with great success (Rubinstein, Lateiner, Laredo, Moravec, Peter Serkin, etc.) to stand beside remarkable but still partial sets (Annie Fisher, Rudolf Serkin) -- then the completes from Schnabel (more a mess than most will admit), Backhaus (almost twice - died before repeating the 'Hammerklavier' in stereo), Kempff, Claude Frank (one of my favorites), Barenboim (spare me, again), Ashkenazy, Brendel (earlier the better), and the list goes on. But this disc is a winner -- despite the two or three Negative Reviewers, whose 'handles' speak volumes. Besides, they don't have to 'listen', obviously. Of the four Sonatas expertly played by Pratt, I like No. 9 and No. 31 the best. No 7 is tough for anyone to put across (Horowitz failed terribly); if you play -- try it! No 30 is also magnificent. An outstanding 'selection' four Beethoven Sonatas that don't seem to 'fit' together --but Pratt is totally convincing. 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 an electrifying performance.

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.

Awadagin Pratt is one of the most unique and unconventional pianists out there today. He's not afraid to break or bend a few rules in order to give a fresh insight into a particular piece. This applies even when he takes on some of Beethoven's most obscure and less-performed sonatas. I cannot accurately describe exactly what he does with them, as I do not own the CD and have only listened to it a few times. What I can say is that his treatment is very complex, deep, and thoughtful, and it is like no other performance of Beethoven that you have ever heard. Check out the samples, try and find a friend that owns a copy, whatever, just listen and I guarantee that if you are a true classical music afficiando, you will find something to like. A neat and interesting take on some of Beethoven's most overlooked works!

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.

Awadagin Pratt is a free spirit. Not only does he sport luxuriant dreadlocks and sit on a tiny stool, but he also played piano incredibly well. Pratt can do whatever he wants around the margins, because he rendered an intensely dramatic interpretation of these immortal pieces, with a distinctly improvisational air in the rhythms.