'Robert Pritchard, Pianist' 1962 LP from Spoken Arts, Inc. available as CD or Download from Smithsonian Folkways

[Robert Pritchard, Pianist; Smithsonian Folkways SFS60002]

Violinist Raycurt Johnson has provided AfriClassical with a link to a description of Smithsonian Folkways SFS60002, recorded on LP in 1962 by the African American pianist Robert Pritchard. The recording is available from Smithsonian Folkways as a CD for $16.98 or as a Download for $9.99. The liner notes are written by Wilmer F. Lucas, Jr. and can be downloaded as a PDF file via a link at the Smithsonian Folkways website:

Folkways.si.edu/

“Robert Pritchard SFS60002

'Robert Starling Pritchard (b. 1927) is the first African American pianist playing Western classical music ever commercially recorded and published, affording him a unique place in music history,' says Henri Georges Polgar, who has worked with the artist for decades. The album, Robert Pritchard, Pianist was originally released as an LP in 1962 by Spoken Arts, Inc. and is now publicly available once again from Smithsonian Folkways. Pritchard was classically trained by renowned master pianists, including Carl Friedberg, Robert Goldsand, and Arturo Michelangeli; he later unfolded a distinguished career as a concert pianist on several continents. Dr. Pritchard also founded the PanAmerican-PanAfrican Association (PAPA) with the goal '...to promote, encourage and foster better understanding and good will among and between peoples of the United States, the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Middle East....' Polgar, a charter trustee of PAPA since 1968 invites us to enjoy Pritchard’s recital. 'Dr. Pritchard not only has broad command of Western classical repertoire, but his own eclectic, original compositions draw upon the diverse musical traditions he encountered in his wide-ranging travels. It's a joyful listening experience.'”

“He knew how to communicate a sense of musical presence, a feeling for shape, line, phrasing and style. There was the authentic and assured ring of real artistry.” New York Times