A pianist for the ages

I always knew Cincinnati was a piano town. On Sunday, I attended the 25th anniversary recital by CCM professor of piano Eugene Pridonoff in Werner Recital Hall. The place was packed.

Part of it has to do with the respect for Pridonoff's artistry, and part because he carries on the revered -- but endangered -- tradition of his legendary teachers Rudolf Serkin, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, and Lillian Steuber.

I say endangered, because few pianists today could tackle Liszt's blockbuster B Minor Sonata with such power, such monumental sense of architecture and such knuckle-breaking precision of the fiendishly difficult passages, and never sound a harsh note.

This was not only a spectacular feat, but a performance of genuine honesty, in which Pridonoff captured the majesty and the emotion with any trace of ego. And how he summoned such huge, orchestral sonorities, and then commanded even more as he scaled each peak, I'll never know.

The B Minor Sonata concluded a concert of all sonatas, that began with Scarlatti and included Mozart, Prokofiev and Ravel's charming Sonatine.

In the crowd: Awadagin Pratt, who makes his debut recital as CCM faculty member on Dec. 1. Don't miss it!