On Saturday, September 12, 2015 at 7:02:27 PM UTC-7, MickeyBoy wrote:
I just finished Earl Wild's memoirs, an engaging 800-page tome entitled A Walk on the Wild Side. I had only thought of him as the Gershwin pianist who also recorded the four Rachmaninov concertos with Horenstein (unfortunately bad sound quality.) He
must have known everybody in NY radio, TV, and classical circles starting in the 1930s. His favorite conductors are Stokowski and Toscanini. His opinions about other pianists are very interesting and gossipy. A thoroughbred concert pianist he cultivated
a singing, full, and varied tone with a lyrical pianism like that of Rachmaninov, Paderewski, and others whom he heard in youth. Tone should be projected to the last row of seats. The chapter, Banging is for the Bedroom, explains his attitude towards
much contemporary pianism as well as his predilection for language as coarse as his Chopin Nocturnes are elegant and refined. He inveighs against pianists who grimace like rock singers and stare at the heavens to communicate profundity. Music making
should be detoxified of this phony reverence. It is alive, the product of very hard preparation and innate talent. "Everything in music is a device or a tune." Play with feeling and an idea in mind. Wild was famous for his transcriptions and
improvisation. A man of very definite opinions and no little self regard, he must have been the life of the party. A recommended read.
Any reactions to this Grieg/Liszt recording?:
https://www.discogs.com/release/10695689-Edvard-Grieg-Franz-Liszt-Earl-WildRoyal-Philharmonic-Orchestra-Earl-Wild-Plays-Two-Favorite-Concerto
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