Search - Camille Saint-Saens, George Frederick Handel, Frederic Chopin :: Earl Wild - The Romantic Master

Remember Earl Wild...?

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 08/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sometimes it takes a while before a man becomes a legend. With the rebirth of appreciation for the "Romantic pianists" (pianists who took great liberties with scores when the composer was in the tradition of such changes in his lifetime - like Liszt, etc) comes a renewed appreciation for the piano mastery of Earl Wild. Somehow always under the shadow of his contemporaries such as Rubinstein, Horowitz, Serkin, et al, Wild had a strong following among a few orchestras and devoted recital attendees. But in his lifetime his popularity waned when he began emphasizing his own 'transcriptions'.



Well, now with the release of this never less than interesting CD the artistry of Earl Wild is bound to gain a new applauding audience. These pieces are his own transcriptions of well known works by composers such as Saint-Saens, Handel, Rachmaninov, Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Kreisler, and some of his own 'homages' to Faure and Poulenc. The playing is incandescently romantic: for sheer exhilaration of excitement these transcriptions are inimitable. The only other album to some close to this is Wild playing Liszt's transcriptions of operas!



This is a well-produced and very fun album for any mood. And it just may well be the kind of entry to the big works that young people need! Grady Harp, August 05"

AMAZING!!!!!

Corrie | Wabasha, MN | 09/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a pianist myself, I truly appreciated this cd. Wild is a genius! I especially loved "Reminiscenes of Snow White". I'm positively dying to get my hands on the score of it!!!! Very well done!!"

Dazzling & Exquisite Pianism

Scriabinmahler | UK | 04/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The supreme Romantic/Virtuoso pianist Earl Wild's own wonderfully sensitive solo piano transcriptions performed by the pianist with dazzling virtuosoty and exquisite tonal delicacy.



Solo version of Largo from Chopin's second (or actually first) piano conerto is the highlight of this captivating recital - wonderfully refined playing! His old age seems to show no sign of technical decline and to deepen his musicianship."