Awadagin Pratt

Awadagin Pratt (born March 6, 1966) is an American concert pianist born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Life
Awadagin Pratt began piano lessons at six with Leslie Sompong and after moving to Normal, Illinois, violin lessons at age nine. With a violin scholarship he enrolled in University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at the age of 16, then transferred to the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore where he was the school's first student to receive diplomas in three different performance areas: piano, violin, and conducting.

In 1992 Pratt became the first African-American pianist to win the Naumburg International Piano Competition. Since then, "he has performed with nearly every major orchestra in this country [the United States], at the Clinton White House, Obama White House and on Sesame Street". Winning the Naumburg prize launched Pratt into a strenuous performance schedule, with 40 to 50 concerts that year and 70 the following year, when he signed with the New York City artist management firm IMG Artists. In 1994 Pratt made his debut at Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic.

In fall 2004 Pratt accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, rising to the rank of Professor of Piano. His recital debut there came on December 1, 2005. Pratt joined the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in July 2023 and is accepting students into his studio in the fall. Pratt continues to offer up to 30 performances a year throughout the United States and abroad, and he hopes to add performances on the violin, both solo and in chamber music, to his recital calendar. A recital on March 3, 2020, drew praises for its "old-master richness." Pratt is also an experienced conductor, having led orchestras in the US and Japan.

In private life, Pratt resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Jill Meyer Pratt and their son. He continues to play tennis, and also pursues interests in chess and fine wines.

Performance preferences
Writers often note Pratt's appearance. "Pratt takes the stage at Boston's Jordan Hall in a subtle but colorful green-and-lavender striped and checked shirt. His black pants reveal a dash of whimsicality below the cuffs: socks adorned with a portrait of Van Gogh". Among other composers whose works he has espoused are Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, César Franck, Edvard Grieg, Modest Mussorgsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Recordings
Pratt has released several recordings on compact disc:
 * A Long Way From Normal (EMI, 1994), Pratt's debut album, including music of Liszt, Franck, Brahms, and Bach. The title is a reference to his boyhood home of Normal, Illinois.
 * Beethoven Piano Sonatas (EMI, 1995), including sonatas 7, 9, 30, and 31.
 * Live From South Africa (EMI, 1997), which was recorded in Cape Town, including works of Bach, Brahms, Franck, and Rachmaninoff.
 * Transformations (EMI 72435 56836, November 16, 1999), including Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition; Pratt's own transcription of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582; and Brahms's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, all played on a Bösendorfer Imperial Grand.
 * Play Bach (Angel 2002), including Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050; Keyboard Concerti nos. 4 in A Major, BWV 1055, and 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056; and shorter works, all with a chamber ensemble performing one to a part.
 * Stillpoint (New Amsterdam, August 2023) newly commissioned works for piano, strings (A Far Cry), and vocals (Roomful of Teeth)