Customer Reviews

Transformations

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I am giving this a recording a rating of four just on the strength of the Passacaglia And Fugue In C Minor, BWV 582 played on the Bosendofer piano. Oh my God... what an incredible tone and moving performance!

The rest of the album is good and I thing that Pratt is a solid performer. He has good interpretive powers and you can get this from listening to samples of his music above. I am looking forward to seeing other albums from this young artist.

One minor criticism is that the Passacaglia had some weak areas toward the end. I think Pratt took a few more liberties than I would have liked. However, overall he did a splendid job adopting this piece to the piano.

Mr. Pratt's interpretation of Bach, Brahms and Mussorgsky is unparalleled. He is a master at what he does. Those who have not experienced his performing should, and those who have already, should again. The subtle and intimate way he performs delights the senses and moves the soul.

Oh, my! I heard, for the first time, without even knowing who was playing, this new Angel/EMI artist Awadagin Pratt. Seattle's KING.org had featured this disc during the waning hours of Labor Day holiday. I was relaxed and able to really listen, rather, than in my line of work as a radio program producer, catch a fast segment of a new release.
Aside from the fact that it wasn't the Internet burping, for a change, but a choppy release, Pratt's perfomance of "Pictures" was heavy and ponderous. The "Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks" had the same pianist approach as "Promenade", and the other tableaux. "The Great Gate of Kiev" had the same flavor as "Bydlo" or "Limoges". Pratt filled this ingenius piece with cement-laden pounding, showing no difference between each segment. I am amazed to see such favorable fanfare over his recordings.
When I compare him to Sergei Edelmann, Horowitz, Kissin, and Lorin Hollander (who played this work often in his solo recitals), and others, I am sorry to see such a new talent who has been highly praised by listeners and reviewers alike, release a new "Pictures" with so little attention to his pallette.

Having listened to over 35 recordings of Brahms's Handel Variations for a 'collector's guide' to the work, which was published in the January/February 2008 issue of International Piano magazine, I can confidently say that Pratt's is among the finest versions of this great work, although not one of the very best, which are those by Jonathan Gilad (EMI), Egon Petri (Naxos), Solomon Cutner (Testament) and - best of all and one of the great piano recordings of all time - Emanuel Ax (Sony).
I have also heard a large number of recordings of Mussorgsky's Pictures, including the justly legendary 1958 concert performance by Sviatoslav Richter. In this case, unfortunately, Pratt's reading is one of the most prosaic of all. At least until the very end he resists the temptation to embellish Mussorgsky's score (unlike Horowitz and Pletnev, for example), but where is the colour, the atmosphere, the drama and the sheer excitement of this astonishing piece? Richter may hit a few wrong notes, but he blows you right out of your chair.
As to the pianist's own Bach transcription, it has to be said that Pratt is no Busoni in terms of aural imagination, but this is a worthy addition to the piano repertoire.
Pratt plays a Boesendorfer instead of the usual Steinway and the sound has a tinny edge, though this may be the fault of EMI's engineer.

The only time I have removed this CD from my car player in the past two weeks is when I have moved it to my home player. Pratt's interpretation of the Bach Passacaglia and Fugue is mesmerising and powerful; his Moussorgsky does what the composer intended-it presents clear visuals. This cannot be said for many versions of "Pictures" even by well known performers. I played the CD at the opening of an art exhibition by Surinamese/Dutch artist Erwin DeVries and in the course of the evening, many people remarked on the power of the music.

Awadagin Pratt is the greatest African American Classical pianist today. His playing is deadly and big and tender. He roles across the keys with a fiery fury that is passionate and wild.

There are 3 CD's I never stop listening to: Awadajin Pratt's, Keith Jarrett's and John McArthur's. The boys can play.

This is one of those CD's you will keep in your collection. It is excellent he does a wonderful job with the material. The definitive touch on some important pieces.

Awadagin Pratt has always seemed (to borrow a phrase) a long way from normal. With his tall-built frame, informal clothes and big dreadlocks, you'd never guess he was a classical pianist just from seeing a picture. And yet, give any of his albums a spin and you'll be amazed at what sheer beauty can come from a single piano in the right hands. He doesn't just have the chops to make the trickiest compositions seem effortless; he gives everything a unique interpretation beyond just playing all the notes the way they're written.

You can't really go wrong with anything he's put out, but I have to claim Transformations as my overall favorite because of my personal preference for "Pictures at an Exhibition." One of Pratt's strengths is his sense of timing & dynamics; knowing when to hold a note or a chord just a moment longer, when to slow down or speed up, and when to play soft or loud. I realize that that's an important thing for anyone playing the piano, true, but AP creates a peaceful romantic beauty that I've rarely heard elsewhere. Sometimes it seems to me that he's underplaying more than needed (i.e. using that soft ambient tone when it's not always necessary), but it fits the selections he chooses here more than overplaying would. Just imagine any of the "Promenade"s or the "Great Gate of Kiev" finale being played too fast or loud. They're better off being a little more subdued.

Beyond the 37 minutes of that initial piece, the album is expanded with a leisurely Bach fugue (originally for organ, but I say it sounds much better on just the piano) and a Brahms variation of a Handel tune. I haven't heard any other versions of those particular pieces, but here I find them just as fascinating as the rest of the disc. The closing suite in particular gives a light, happy feeling to wind things down to a close.

I'll leave off now, lest I further reveal my overwhelming ignorance of most things classical. I can't say anything about how any composer's works should or shouldn't sound. But I know what I like, and I like this very much.

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.

My wife and I fight over this CD all the time - Pratt shows a power in his performance that is seldom seen. Our kids even request that we put this on in the car as we travel - a miracle for two teenagers!