"Witt is the real thing. He's worth going out of your way to hear."—Randall Beard, Saint Paul Pioneer Press

"His work is highly structured yet full of breath and spaciousness and unexpected turns. It is richly textured and intricate yet conveys its meaning directly. Most importantly, it resonates with clear and powerful feeling. As a dancer and choreographer, I find this combination irresistable." —Wynn Fricke, Artistic Director of Borrowed Bones Dance Theatre

"Beautiful, and courageously spare..." —Peter O'Gorman, percussionist

"As Dick Vitale would say: "Awesome, Baby!" Your CD is wonderful and perfect for playing in my treatment rooms." —Dr. Don Habermas-Scher, Chiropractor

Reviewed by Kathy Parsons in Solo Piano Publications

Quiet Mind is a stunningly beautiful and tranquil solo piano work by Carl Witt. Originally released in 2000, the CD was recently re-released with new packaging, which is also gorgeous. Subtitled “Piano Meditations,” this is one of the most soothing recordings I’ve ever heard. Dr. Witt received his DMA in composition and applied piano from the Eastman School of Music, and he performs a combination of classical and original music in concert. Described as a mix of Van Cliburn and George Winston, Witt includes a wide range of 20th century composers as contributors to his musical style, as well as a lifetime of personal influences. Meditation and improvisation can often be considered to be one and the same thing, and this is especially true with Quiet Mind, a work of incredible subtlety and grace. It is a perfect example of “minimalist piano,” with lots of open space between many of the notes and a gentle voice. The music resembles the quiet peace of nature (to me, anyway), but leaves it completely to the listener to interpret and visualize a meaning for each piece (if that is even necessary). The titles of the five pieces are their duration (“3:41,” 11:50,” etc.), again leaving it up to the listener to interpret the music for himself or herself. Often, music that comes from the academic music community is very difficult to grasp and understand, but this lovely gem should be accessible to anyone who loves quiet piano music. It could serve as soft background music, but allowing the music wash over you and soothe your cares away is much more satisfying in so many ways. Witt has created a marvelous example of the healing and renewing power of music. Music this subtle will sound a little different each time you listen to it, as your mind focuses on some areas and wanders off in others. Quiet Mind is truly a gift to your mind and body, so indulge often and feel the magical massage of musical notes as they caress your stress away.

Reviewed by Bill Binkelman in New Age Reporter

I first reviewed Carl Witt’s outstanding minimalist solo piano CD, Quiet Mind, when it initially came out in 2000 (now repackaged and re-released). At that time, I was struck by how perfectly the sparse yet beautiful graphic design (featuring photos by renowned nature photographer Craig Blacklock), as well as the lack of song titles (there were five time cues but no printed listing of separate tracks whatsoever), matched the intimate musical meditations which Witt so expertly performed. I wrote, “Subtitled ‘piano meditations by Carl Witt,’ the CD is a collection of …unstructured … delicate and sublime solo piano pieces…the impressionistic nature of these pieces, which are completely improvised, lend the music an intimacy…that would seem ideally suited to...well, the "quiet mind." Time hasn’t dulled (in fact, it may have sharpened) my appreciation for this recording, perhaps because my own life has gotten more stressful. If you have your share of hectic days and find even sedate solo piano releases in the new age music genre tend to be either too syrupy or too reliant on traditional “pop” structure, then Quiet Mind will, I think, prove a godsend.

The five tracks (now listed as “Part I,” “Part II” and so on) have a casual unwinding nature to them. George Winston would be an obvious point of comparison, although Witt is truly an original. With no easily discernible trace of experimentalism or dissonance, the music, even at its least conventional, is accessible for all but the timid. Yet the improvisatory nature of the music allows the jaded listener to indulge in the rich nuance and the “simple complexity” of, especially, the selections on which Witt explores silence to the greatest degree (in the middle of the CD). The “brightness” of “Part I” is juxtaposed by the slow flowing refrains and repeated musical phrases of “Part II.” “Part III” and “Part IV” are extremely minimal in characteristic, and as such might alienate “casual” piano music fans as Witt (over each song’s more than ten-minute duration) explores the boundaries of note sustain and the blurring of music and silence. This is what makes Quiet Mind so perfect for late night playings; it’s unobtrusive yet seeps into your environment, providing subtle warmth and comfort. Again, from my earlier review: “…not to say that Quiet Mind is ‘cheery,’ but it is decidedly not melancholic. Instead, it's about as neutral as music can be....” My use of the words “warmth and comfort” in this updated review are more due to how the music has grown on me over time.

In my previous review, I used the word “abstract” to describe some tracks, and I suppose if one were raised on a diet of adult contemporary music, these (appearing to be) “rambling” pieces with notes scattered here and there like leaves littering a forest floor in random and unfocused “patterns,” might sound abstract. Today, with six more years of music reviewing behind me, I’m less inclined to use that word, lest I dissuade folks from investigating this exceptional recording. One last excerpt from my earlier review: “…the music capture[s] the feeling of solitude in nature which I seek in recordings… It evoked the feel of walking in the woods…” It’s this musical expression of the simple yet profound beauty we find in the natural world, without undue drama or emphasis, which elevates Quiet Mind to sit with a select few others at the top of a list of favorite piano recordings in my collection. Carl Witt’s talent, soul and humanity inhabit every note; this is no mere dry intellectual impersonal exercise. Listening to this album is like a walk in nature on a fall day: refreshing yet calming, soothing the jangled nerves while rejuvenating the harried spirit. It earns my highest recommendation.

Sewanee Messenger, 2007

Pianist and composer Carl Witt, music coordinator at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School, will present a concert of solo improvisations in Guerry Auditorium…Witt’s work as an improviser…is a sophisticated amalgamation of minimalist, classical, rock, and other influences.

Orchestra News (Minnesota Orchestra) - 1996

Co-Principal Flute Barbara Leibundguth and award-winning composer and pianist CW have made an intriguing CD that Albany Records has just released. Visionary Duos offers a cross-section of virtuoso twentieth century music for flute and piano by Messiaen, Honegger, Badings, Karg-Elert, Boulez, and Witt himself. The styles range from late Romantic to modern, neo-classical to tonal contemporary. “We hand-picked the works as gems of the repetoire,” Leibundguth says. The disk is on

Friday, 2nd October, 1998, St. John’s Smith Square, London
Wissam Boustany, flute; Nigel Clayton, piano

This was the most convincing flute recital I have heard in a long time. The whole programme was delivered with total commitment…the American composer Carl Witt’s Duo for Flute & Piano received its European premiere. Most of us flautists were in wonder at Wissam’s fine control and courage in the predominantly high flute writing, and in his ability to memorize and conquer the complex language of Witt’s score…—Emma Thompson, Pan Magazine

TIBIA, April, 1997 (originally in German)

[Witt's Duo for Flute & Piano] will polarize in any case. It once again raises the question, how new, serious music could still sound in all its plurality of style. Does a work written essentially in major seventh harmonies, major scales, and pentaonic fifth structure belong to new music? In contrast to stylistic imitations, including plagarized pieces of baroque or classical origin, this work could not have been written before 1900, but could perhaps have been written before 1996….this work is certainly not easy…but when the players find it, the enthusiastic listeners will surely find it, too. But why shouldn’t one at least be able to dream of good fortune, especially when it occurs so freshly and without kitsch?— Frank Michael, Tibia Magazine

“We at Bet Shalom recently completed our tenure as members of the Faith Partners program of the American Composers Forum…his second creation for us is a hauntingly beautiful piece for soloist, choir, and piano, using the text of Psalm 117 (Praise God, all you nations)…this work, following close on the heels of September 11th, resonated with this large, diverse group of people, and captured the spirit of our time…—Norman Cohen, Rabbi, Bet Shalom Congregation (Minneapolis)