Earl Wild – the Romantic Master

Earl Wild – The Romantic Master

VIRTUOSO PIANO TRANSCRIPTIONS l l l l l l l l The word “transcription” comes from transcribe — to write out in full. When applied to the art of music, it refers to a composition that is arranged or adapted for an instrument, voice, or ensem- ble other than that for which it was originally written. Since the earliest of times composers and performers have been arranging, improvising, paraphrasing, borrowing, or recasting popular themes. Whether in variation form or in elaborate fantasias, themes such as “la Spagna,” Greensleeves, and many others have appeared penned by many of the great composers. Variation forms allowed composers to create often elaborate sets of improvisations based on popular themes of the day. Mozart chose themes by Salieri, Grétry, Gluck, and Duport. Even the popular French children’s song Ah vous dirai-je, maman yielded a new pianistic masterpiece. Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms followed suit with incredible works based on themes by others. During the 19th century some of the most popular operatic tunes were circulated for the amateur musician as piano potpourris and fantasias by workmanlike composers such as Bendel, Cramer, Behr, Leybach and others. All the best and most popular tunes of the day were available as piano transcriptions for enjoyment at home. The popularity of this music did not go unnoticed by the virtuoso pianists of the day. Sigismond Thalberg and Franz Liszt amazed audiences with their extraordinary, difficult and elaborate improvisations on themes from opera, song, chamber music or symphonic works. Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was an inveterate transcriber. Whether the melody was a simple folk song, a complex symphonic work, a lengthy chamber piece, an operatic aria, or a beautiful art-song, Liszt could not resist the urge to lovingly transform it into a piano work. More than half of his compositions are transcriptions, paraphrases, reminiscences, or fantasies on other composers’ music. Liszt possessed an amazing response to poetic imagery. He believed that purely musical images of poetic ideas are capable of being projected to the listener and that he could illustrate such imagery without words. This was his lifelong aesthetic. Liszt transcribed about 150 songs. In addition, he transcribed for piano the complete symphonies of Beethoven, numerous works by Berlioz, Wagner, Rossini, Weber, and others. Virtually every musical work was grist for Liszt’s transcription mill. Liszt set an incredibly high standard for the art of transcription, and it is this standard that was the – 2 – influencing factor and guideline for virtuoso pianists who were to follow. On this disc, we hear transcriptions by four great pianists of the past, and nine transcriptions by Earl Wild, the last living link to the great romantic pianistic traditions of that past. The least well-known transcriber in this col- lection is Pavel (Paul)Pabst (1854-1897). Pabst was the son of a German organist. He graduated from the Vienna Hochschule für Musik and took piano lessons from Franz Liszt. In 1878 Pabst was invited by Nikolai Rubinstein to join the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory. After Rubinstein’s death in 1883, Pabst became the Conservatory’s director. His influence on Russian musicians was impressive. Among his students were Konstantin Igumnov, Nikolai Medtner, Alexander Goldenweiser, Alexander Gedike, Sergei Lyapunov, the Conus brothers, and Elena Bekman-Shcherbina. Pabst was renowned as a virtuoso pianist, famous as an interpreter of Liszt’s and Schumann’s music, and an advocate of Pavel Pabst (1854-1897) works by his friends Tchaikovsky and Arensky. He composed an enormous amount of original music, including a virtuosic Piano Concerto and a beautiful Piano Trio, but it is the brilliant piano paraphrases on themes by Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky which are best known today. Pabst’s impressive Paraphrase de Concert sur le ballet “La belle au bois dormant” [Track 5 ] [Paraphrase on Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty] was originally published by P. Jurgenson in Moscow. A wonderfully elaborate and virtuosic transcription, Pabst’s paraphrase follows some of Liszt’s models by using musical material from several sections of the ballet, opening with the dramatic entrance of the wicked fairy Carabosse, who places a curse on the newborn princess. Wilhelm Backhaus (1884-1969) was one of the truly great pianists of this century. Born in Leipzig, he made his debut at the age of eight. At the age of eleven he met Johannes Brahms, a meeting he would never forget. Brahms remained an inspiration throughout his life, yet his later fame rested on his interpretations of Beethoven’s works. Backhaus studied with Liszt pupil and

– 3 – legendary pianist Eugen d’Albert. After winning the Anton Rubinstein Prize in 1905, Backhaus was appointed professor at the Royal College of Music in Manchester. By the time he made his American debut in 1912, he was recognized in many of the leading European capitals as one of the outstanding living interpreters of the classic piano literature. That performance with the New York Philharmonic also made Backhaus one of the most famous concert artists in America. One New York critic wrote: “his type is most unusual. In appearance he resembles a slender god just stepped from Olympus. What is more he plays like a god, too. He is Liszt, Rubinstein and Paderewski rolled into one. Why he created a furore is easy to understand.” The New York Times proclaimed the performance “brilliant, crisp, with true poetical feeling.” He continued to tour the United States through 1926 and became internationally admired for his marvellous recordings. He returned to New York in 1954 to sold-out concerts. The two all-Beethoven con- Wilhelm Backhaus (1884-1969) certs at Carnegie Hall in 1956 elicited from Harold C. Schonberg, in the New York Times nothing but admiration and praise: “His playing is immense, monolithic, carved out of granite... When Mr. Backhaus goes about his work the music emerges in gigantic proportions.” At the age of eighty, Backhaus undertook to record the 32 Beethoven sonatas for the third time, this time in stereo. By the time he died in 1969 he had completed the project, except for one sonata, the Hammerklavier, Op.106. In his concerts Backhaus performed an astonishing variety of music. Besides the standard repertoire by Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Schumann, and Beethoven, he included many compositions of Liszt and Chopin (he was the very first pianist to record the Chopin’s 24 Études!), and rarities by Palmgren, Seeling, Herzog, Wertheim, Pick-Mangiagalli, and others. Many of his recitals included transcriptions by Liszt, Tausig, Dohnányi, Busoni, Siloti, Saint-Saëns, Hutcheson, and, of course, his own transcription of the Serenade (“Horch auf dem Klang” (Deh vieni alla finestra,

– 4 – o mio tesoro) from Act II of Mozart’s Don Giovanni [Track 8 ]. Backhaus’ transcription, published in 1924, captures the strains of Don Giovanni’s mandolin Serenade beautifully, retain- ing its charm, while being unusually free and ornate in its pianistic treatment. Carl Tausig (1841-1871) studied with Liszt and made his public début in 1858. His life and career were tragically cut short when he died of typhoid fever. Musicians and critics agreed that Tausig was almost Liszt’s equal in grandeur of interpretation and in technique. As a composer, Tausig left a legacy of original compositions and masterful transcriptions. The most difficult of these were Tausig’s extraordinary transcriptions of Liszt’s symphonic poems. The transcriptions of Schubert’s works have remained ever popular, while Tausig’s five Valse-Caprices on themes by Johann Strauss, Jr. were published in two books entitled Nouvelles Soirées de Vienne. The first group were published by Haslinger in Vienna in Carl Tausig (1841-1871) 1862. Tausig created these as an addendum to Liszt’s series (based on Schubert’s works) and dedicated the set to his teacher. Amy Fay, who studied with Kullak, Tausig and Liszt, wrote extensively about these works: “Tausig, in my opinion, possessed exceptional genius in compositions, though he left few works behind him to attest it. Prominent among these are his unique arrangements of Strauss’ Waltzes. He had a passion for philosophy, and was deeply read in Kant and Hegel. These :arrangements” betray his metaphysical and tentative turn, and could only have been the product of the highest mental force and culture. Calling the waltz itself the wrap of the composition, then through its simple threads we find darting backwards and forwards a subtle, complicated, and trag- ic sentiment, and a piquant, aerial fancy, until finally is wrought a brilliant and bewildering transcription — transfiguration rather — of endless fascination and tantalizing beauty, which no one but a virtuoso can play and no one but a connoisseur can comprehend. In a peculiar manner he leaves a stamp upon the heart...” Earl Wild performs the Valse-Caprice No.2 (“Man lebt nur einmal,” Opus 167) [“One Lives But Once”] [Track 12 ].

– 5 – The Tausig transcription was a favorite of Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943), who performed it often and recorded it in 1927. It is difficult to summarize the genius and artistry of Rachmaninov in just a few sentences. Rachmaninov was a true master musician. Arguably the finest pianist of his day and renowned also as a conductor, he was, as a composer, one of the most important figures of Russian late Romanticism. Although his technical and interpretative mastery were incidental to his creative genius, his recordings continue to fascinate and enthral, for no pianist of that era has left such a treasure trove of extraordinary performances. As a composer, Rachmaninov left a permanent and indelible imprint on all pianists who followed him. His Preludes and Concertos are standard repertoire — every student and serious concertizing pianist plays his music. Simply put, Rachmaninov’s lyrical gifts carried the Romantic tradition of the 19th century far into the 20th century and his influence on performers and composers is still being felt today. Earl Wild has often stated that “Rachmaninov was the most important musical influence in my life.” Mr. Wild has performed all of Rachmaninov’s piano compositions, has recorded all of the concertos, and transcribed thirteen of Rachmaninov’s sumptuous songs. Mr. Wild writes: “The enduring beauty of the songs gave me the motivation for the transcriptions. As a student, I met the famous Russian soprano Maria Kurenko. Rachmaninov often accompanied her in his songs. Madame Kurenko taught me much about their interpretation. In particular, I have a deep affection for Midsummer Nights, which I find to be one of Rachmaninov’s loveliest songs.” Midsummer Nights, Opus 14, No.5 [Track 4 ] was composed by Rachmaninov in September of 1896. Dedicated to Maria Gutheil, the wife of the publisher who first issued Rachmaninov’s songs, this song is a setting of the poem by Dmitri Rathaus (translated for the Gutheil edition by Edward Agate): Oh these midsummer nights all in splendor set, Steeped in wonder of moonlight that reigns serene, They awaken the promise of ecstasy, And rekindle the passion of love’s desire. From this sorrowful heart, they will lift the load, Weight of woe unto mortals by life decreed, And the borders of happiness open wide, The spell obeying, that silent its work is weaving... And the gates of the spirit are barr’d no more, For its regions are flooded with waves of love, Oh, these midsummer nights all in splendor set, Clad in magic of moonlight that reigns supreme. Earl Wild’s transcription of this marvelous song was completed in 1981.

– 6 – Rachmaninov’s own transcription of Fritz Kreisler’s delicious violin work, Liebesleid (“Love’s Sorrow”) [Track 13 ] was first performed by Rachmaninov at a concert in Chicago on November 20, 1921. Kreisler wrote this as part of a trilogy of Alt Wiener Tanzweisen (“Old Viennese Dance Melodies”). When Rachmaninov recorded his own transcription on a reproducing piano roll for the Ampico Corporation, they published the following information in their catalogue: “Kreisler’s beautiful old Viennese dance melodies have delighted thousands of music lovers who have heard them. There is a plaintive appeal in these dance melodies of a far-off time, recalling the festivities of other days, when the waltz rhythm was a newly discovered delight. They come with much charm inseparable from folk music, and bear the unmistakable stamp of their Viennese origin. Rachmaninov has taken one of the loveliest, a love song, and added embellish- ments of his own that set it forth in a new dress, but with all its original beauty shining through the shimmering filigree with which he adorns it.” In 1881, when Saint-Saëns was elected to the Institut de France someone said, “If it were Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) necessary to characterize Saint-Saëns in a few words we should call him the best musician in France.” He was a man of extraordinary, and seemingly inexhaustible, energy and drive. He was an expert organist and pianist, teacher, founder of the Société Nationale de Musique. He edited the music of other composers, including a comprehensive edition of Rameau’s works, and wrote theoretical treatises on harmony and melody. Beyond all this he was an amateur astronomer, physicist, archaeologist, and natural historian. He painted and did creative writing, enjoyed learning new languages, and was an omnivorous reader of the classics. In short, Saint-Saëns was a man of immense culture. Saint-Saëns was a master craftsman who had an unerring musical sense and an astonishing

– 7 – ability to produce masterpiece after masterpiece. He left an astonishing volume of work including thirteen operas (of which Samson et Dalila is considered one of the greatest works of the French lyric stage), ten concertos (including the delightful Carnival of the Animals for two pianos and orchestra), seven symphonies, numerous choral works, over a hundred songs, symphonic poems, piano compositions and chamber sonatas for violin, cello, clarinet, oboe and bassoon. He also wrote works for military band, cadenzas to piano concertos of Mozart and Beethoven, and transcribed and arranged numerous works by Bach, Gluck, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Mozart and others. “Of all composers, Saint-Saëns is most difficult to describe,” wrote Arthur Hervey. “He eludes you at every moment — the elements constituting his musical personality are so varied in their nature, yet they seem to blend in so remarkable a fashion... Saint-Saëns is a typical Frenchman... He is preeminently witty... It is this quality which has enabled him to attack the driest forms of art and render them bearable. There is nothing ponderous about him.” In the period after the Franco-Prussia War, Saint-Saëns helped to found the National Society of Music for the encouragement of French instrumental composition. About this same time the pre- occupation with the théâtre among French composers began to slack off a little and representatives of a new symphonic school came forward. It was in this set of circumstances that the four symphonic poems — Le Rouet d’Omphale, Op.31; Phaëton, Opus 39; Danse Macabre, Opus 40; and La Jeunesse d’Hercule, Opus 50 — were conceived. Their part in giving prestige to the new French symphonists was a most important one. Le Rouet d’Omphale, Opus 31 [Omphale’s Spinning Wheel] [Track 1 ] was Saint-Saëns’ first attempt at tone-painting. On the face of it, the music depicts the whirling and whirring of the wheel used in spinning flax into linen thread. According to legend, the spinner is not Omphale, we are told but Hercules, who got himself in trouble with the gods and was put into bondage to Omphale for three years. Apparently to humiliate him, Omphale put him to spinning while dressed in women’s clothing. The moaning theme introduced in the middle of the piece is said to be old Hercules groaning under the burden of it all. On the flyleaf of the original piano score, Saint-Saëns added a further note: “The subject of this symphonic poem is feminine seductiveness, the tri- umphant contest of weakness against strength. The spinning wheel is merely a pretext; it is chosen simply for the sake of its rhythmical suggestion and from the viewpoint of the general form of the piece.” As a model Earl Wild does not use Saint-Saëns’ own rather spare piano version, but returns to the original orchestral score, incorporating many orchestral effects into his 1995 transcription. Tchaikovsky was most comfortable writing music for the ballet, opera, and symphony orchestra. Although he composed for the piano extensively and throughout all of his creative life, the bulk of the music — over one hundred pieces — consists of collections of morceaux, mostly waltzes, scherzi and other short pieces intended for the piano enthusiast performing in a family

– 8 – salon. Tchaikovsky, even in the larger forms, was never completely at ease writing for the piano. This may be because he always considered himself a “piano player” rather than a “pianist.” The dis- tinction is important, in that, for Tchaikovsky the piano was a means to an end — an instrument to try out ideas, audition symphonic works, or accompany the voice. Earl Wild’s 1975 transcription of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Four Swans” (Pas de Quatre, Act 2) from Swan Lake, Opus 20 (1875/76) [Track 11 ] is a pure delight. Not to be mistaken for the “Dance of the Little Swans” which occurs in Act 4 of the ballet, the “Dance of the Four Swans” takes place in Act 2, just prior to the Pas d’action. Swan Lake is one of the greatest ballets of all time — a Germanic fairy tale, in which Prince Siegfried woos Odette, Queen of the Swan Maidens. The Swan Maidens are swans only by day, being transformed back to their original state at night by the magician Rotbart, under whose spell they exist. Naturally, Siegfried has a hard time winning Odette away from Rotbart’s magic power, but in the end he finally succeeds. Earl Wild’s transcription of Tchaikovsky’s memorable and haunting romance from 1878, At the Ball (“Sred shumnovo bala”), Opus 38, No.3 [Track 10 ] captures the music’s gentle poignancy reflecting the more inward feelings stirred by a beautiful woman glimpsed across a crowded and noisy ballroom. The poem by Aleksey Tolstoy (1817-1875) attracted Wild to transcribe the song in 1992. Amid the din of the ball in the tumult of everyday bustle, I chanced to see you, but a secret veiled your features; Only your eyes looked on sadly, but your voice sounded so divine, Like the sound of a distant pipe, like the sea’s playful wave. I loved your slender figure and your pensive look, And your laughter, at once sad and vibrant, Has rung out in my heart since then! When, in the lonely hours of the night, I am weary and would lie down to rest, I see your sad eyes, and hear your happy voice. Then sadly, so sadly, I sink into sleep, a sleep of dreams beyond recall. I do not know if I love you, but it seems to me that I do! Gabriel Fauré was born in Pamiers, Ariege, France, May 13, 1845; he died in Paris, November 4, 1924. As a youth he had every musical advantage. He studied under the best teachers, including Saint-Saëns, Niedermeyer and Dietsch. He progressed rapidly as composer, organist and teacher. His first professional position was that of organist at St. Sauveur, at Rennes; later he returned to Paris, and after occupying various rather minor posts as organist, he was made accompanying organist at St. Sulpice, where the late and beloved Charles-Marie Widor was at one time principal – 9 – organist. Still later he accepted the principal post of maitre de chapelle at the Church of the Madeleine, becoming organist of this famous basilica in 1896. About the same time he took up his duties as a professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory, where he advanced continually until in 1905 he held the post of director in succession to the organist, Theodore Dubois. With this appointment began a period of great accomplishment. As a teacher his influence has been felt to the present day, not only in the music of France but among all the composers who have ever studied in that country. Among his pupils whose gifts he developed and encouraged were such colossal figures as Nadia Boulanger, Roger-Ducasse, Aubert, Ravel, Laparra, Florent Schmitt and many others. Of the Fauré songs, the best known are, perhaps, Les Roses d’Ispahan, Opus 39, No.4 (1884) and Après un rêve, Opus 7, No.1 (1878) — but there is a large number of others, equally beautiful. In his 1992 transcription of Faure’s Après un rêve (“After a Dream”) [Track 6 ], Earl Wild is mind- ful of not only the words but also Lotte Lehmann’s sage advise: “Begin this song as if still in a dream... it is also important that each phrase be sung with a swing, with a soft rise and fall... Begin with a delicate ecstasy and don’t forget that some of the phrases are silvery, very bright, very ethereal.” The anonymous words are radiant: In a slumber, charmed by your image, I dreamed of happiness - ardent mirage. Your eyes were more gentle, your voice pure and clear. You were radiant like a sky brightened by sunrise. You called me and I left the earth to flee with you towards the light. The skies opened their clouds to us — splendors unknown — glimpses of divines light. Alas, alas, sad awakening from dreams! I call to you, oh night, give me back your illusions. Return, return with your radiance, return, oh mysterious night! A few of the great composers showed exceptional talents when very young. Although some, such as Mozart, were “infant prodigies” it is not to be taken for granted (although it sometimes is) that all composers of genius belonged to this class. George Frideric Handel’s development was steady rather than spectacular and while his achievement was considerable by the time he took English nationality at the age of forty-one his best known works — in almost every field — were yet to come. A year after George I had confirmed Handel’s British citizenship and appointed him to the post of Court composer, for which he was now eligible, he died and was succeeded by George II. – 10 – In October, 1727, the Coronation took place and Handel composed four anthems for voices and orchestra to celebrate the occasion. By the time he began composing his twelve Concerti Grossi, Opus 6 he was at the height of his powers. On January 16, 1739, he had led the performance of his oratorio Saul at the King’s Theatre. He had completed this work in September, 1738, and only four days later, on October 1, plunged into Israel in Egypt, which he composed in the space of about three weeks, a feat that remains incredible, even when we grant the fact that he used a great deal of music by other composers in this work. On April 4, 1739, Israel in Egypt was performed. Although it was at first a failure, Handel was to be amply consoled two years later, in 1741, with the success of Messiah. Considering the rate at which Handel was producing masterpiece after masterpiece, we might expect to find something feverish, something overdriven, in the Concerti Grossi. But we find nothing of the kind. It is true, as Romain Rolland and others have pointed out, that this music has the nature of a constant improvisation. Rolland adds that it must be “served piping hot”! Yet so colossal were Handel’s musical powers, so sure was his hand, that he could throw off completely formed and balanced works that unite classical beauty with the utmost freedom of imagination. Handel composed sixteen keyboard suites which were published between 1720 and 1733. The Suite No.5 in E Major, contains four movements, concluding with Handel’s most famous keyboard work, the so-called “Harmonious Blacksmith.” The title accorded this Air con Variazioni cannot be found in any publication prior to the 19th century. The movement is a straight forward air with five variations which become progressively more elaborate. In his 1993 transcription of the Air and Variations - “The Harmonious Blacksmith” [Track 2 ], Mr. Wild shows his consummate knowl- edge of 18th century performance practices. Earl Wild has stated that he incorporated the “many benefits of the double-keyboard harpsichord in preparing the score for modern piano. I was also very influenced by the performances I heard of this work as a child by great masters such as Moritz Rosenthal and Sergei Rachmaninov.” According to composer and musicologist, Hubert Parry, the story of the “Harmonious Blacksmith” arose from a mythical account of Handel “being caught in a shower of rain while walking near Cannons. Handel took refuge in a blacksmith’s shop, where he heard the blacksmith whistling or singing the famous tune to the accompaniment of the ringing sound of the anvil.” A pleasant story, now proven to be baseless. Critic Jay Harrison once stated that “In many ways, Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) is Paris. He is gay like Paris, sad like Paris. And he bustles constantly. His hands wave, his eyebrows arch, he twitches, grins, makes faces. When his mouth talks, all of him talks too. If he is not Paris, he is at least French. Not even a deaf man could doubt that.” And certainly that is also true of Poulenc’s music. In much of his music (the finest examples being his Suite française, a transcription of seven dances by Claude Gervaise, and his Valse-improvisation sur le nom de BACH dedicated to Vladimir

– 11 – Horowitz) Poulenc combined the old with the new. His style was at times sweetly melancholic mixed with liberal dashes of wry dissonances and haunting, plaintive melodies. No other 20th century composer created music in this style, vigorous, whimsical and peppery. Earl Wild’s Hommage à Poulenc (1995) [Track 7 ] is in essence an improvisation “in the style” of Poulenc based on Bach’s Sarabande, from the Partita No.1 in B flat Major, BWV 825. Mr. Wild writes: “One day I happened to be playing the well-known Sarabande from Bach’s Partita No.1. Suddenly, I wondered how it might sound in a Poulenc setting. This notion intrigued me since Bach and Poulenc are two composers often thought to be incompatible. I realized it was truly an homage to Poulenc, whom I found to be a very gracious and generous man.” The recent celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Walt Disney’s Snow White included its first release on videotape. Earl Wild comments: “Watching Snow White brought back so many vivid memories of the past that I wanted to write something making use of these enchanting tunes by Frank Churchill.” Frank Churchill (1901-1942) was a pianist and composer, educated at the University of California, Los Angeles. Among the marvelous scores he composed during his tenure with Walt Disney were Three Little Pigs (1933) which included the universally recognized song, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?,” Dumbo (which won him the Academy Award in 1941), Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1938), and Bambi (1942). Earl Wild’s own sense of humor adds to the charm of the original music, developing these reminiscences (of the marvelous songs: “Whistle While You Work”; “I’m Wishing”; “One Song”; “Heigh-Ho”; and “Someday My Prince Will Come”) into a personal statement that pays homage to the feature-length animated film. It is one of the few uniquely American art forms. Earl Wild completed the Reminiscences of Snow White [Track 9 ] in 1995, dedicating the work to Barbara Sokol. Contemporaries of Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) reported that he often played for them a solo version of the Larghetto from the Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 [Track 3 ]. Franz Liszt called this movement “resplendent with rare dignity of style, and containing passages of wondrous interest and astonishing grandeur. The whole movement is of an almost ideal perfection; its expres- sion is now radiant with light and anon full of tender pathos.” Hermann Scholtz, another cele- brated pianist, who transcribed the movement for solo piano in the 19th century, wrote: “It is a piece full of poetic charm. In it all the attributes of a perfect work of art appear in the happiest union; noble melody, choice harmonies, agreeable figures, and the perfection of form, while the thoroughly original ideas are finely contrasted.” Earl Wild states: “The dramatic middle section, which is accompanied by a tremolo in the orchestra, necessitated a total adjustment in transcribing this work for solo performance.” Mr. Wild’s transcription was completed in 1985.

– 12 – EARL WILD “When Earl Wild performs, the Golden Age of the keyboard suddenly reappears.” TIME Magazine (1995)

l l l l l l l l Earl Wild is a pianist in the grand Romantic tradition. His legendary career, so distinguished and long, has continued for well over 70 years. Born in 1915, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Earl Wild’s technical accomplishments are often likened to what those of Liszt himself must have had. Born with absolute pitch he started playing the piano at three. Having studied with great pianists such as Egon Petri, his lineage can be traced back to Scharwenka, Busoni, Ravel, d’Albert and Liszt himself. Earl Wild’s career is dotted with musical legends. As a young pianist he was soloist with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony. Since then he has performed with virtually every major conductor and symphony orchestra in the world. Rachmaninov was an important idol in his life. It’s been said of Earl Wild, “He’s the incarnation of Rachmaninov, Lhevinne and Rosenthal rolled into one!” In 1986 after hearing him play three sold-out Carnegie Hall concerts, devoted to Liszt, honoring the Earl Wild

– 13 – centenary of that composer’s death, one critic said, “I find it impossible to believe that he played those millions of notes with 70-year-old fingers, so fresh-sounding and precise were they. Perhaps he has a worn-out set up in his attic, a la Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray.” He’s one of the few American pianists to have achieved international as well as domestic celebri- ty. He has performed for six Presidents of the United States, beginning with Herbert Hoover, and in 1939, was the first classical pianist to give a recital on the new medium of Television. At four- teen he was performing in the Pittsburgh Symphony with Otto Klemperer as well as working at radio station KDKA, where he played many of his own compositions. As a virtuoso pianist, composer, transcriber, conductor, editor and teacher, Mr. Wild continues in the style of the legendary great artists of the past. In addition to his distinguished concert career, which encompasses performances with other eminent conductors such as Stokowski, Reiner, Maazel, Solti and Mitropoulos, and artists like Callas, Tourel, Pons, Melchior, Peerce and Bumbry, Wild successfully shines as both a conductor and composer. His Easter oratorio, Revelations, was broadcast by the ABC network in 1962 and again in 1964. Wild’s most recent composition, Variations on a Theme of Stephen Foster for piano and orchestra (“Doo-Dah” Variations), premiered with Wild as soloist with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra in 1992. Earl Wild has been called “the finest transcriber of our time,” and his piano transcriptions are widely known and respected. This eminent pianist has built an extensive repertoire over the years, which includes both the standard and modern literature. He has become world renown in particular for his brilliant performances of the virtuoso Romantic works. Today at 84, Mr. Wild continues to record and perform concerts throughout the world. In 1997, he won a Grammy® Award for this disc, “The Romantic Master” – Virtuoso Piano Transcriptions. Praised by critics and music lovers around the world as a “stunning document of musical sensitivity and virtuosity” and “a tribute to America’s greatest pianistic treasure” — this CD is once again available in its original HDCD state-of-the-art audio- phile sound. When he was 79, he recorded a well received Beethoven disc which included the monumental Hammerklavier Sonata, as well as another disc composed of Rachmaninov’s Preludes and the Second Piano Sonata. Mr. Wild was also included in Philips’ Great Pianists of the 20th Century series with a double CD devoted to piano transcriptions. As an Ivory Classics® artist, he has just recorded three 20th century piano sonatas by Barber, Hindemith and Stravinsky as well as a sonata of his own, which will be released in the year 2000 (his 85th birthday year).

– 14 – CREDITS Recorded in Fernleaf Abbey, Columbus, Ohio, May 7-11, 1995 20-bit HDCD encoded Producer: Michael Rolland Davis Engineer: Ed Thompson Piano Technician: Andrei Svetlichny Special thanks to the Michael Palm Foundation This disc is dedicated to the memory of Michael Palm and Andrei Svetlichny Liner Notes: Marina and Victor Ledin Design: Communication Graphics Inside Tray Photo: Earl Wild’s 1997 Grammy® Award This disc was previously released in 1995 on Sony Classical [SK62036] Printed Scores of Earl Wild’s Transcriptions are available from: Michael Rolland Davis Productions, Publisher, ASCAP 2233 Fernleaf Lane • Columbus, Ohio 43235 USA Phone: (614) 761-1755 • Fax: (614) 761-9799 All of Mr. Wild’s Transcriptions are ASCAP

To place an order or to be included on mailing list: Ivory Classics™ • P.O. Box 341068 • Columbus, Ohio 43234-1068 Phone: 888-40-IVORY or 614-761-8709 • Fax: 614-761-9799 [email protected] • Website: http://www.IvoryClassics.com

– 15 – Earl Wild Virtuoso Piano Transcriptions

1 Saint-Saëns /Wild: Le Rouet d’Omphale, Op.31 8:12 * 2 Handel /Wild: Air and Variations – The Harmonious Blacksmith 4:26 * 3 Chopin /Wild: Larghetto, from Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor, Op.21 9:17 * 4 Rachmaninov /Wild: Midsummer Nights, Op.14, No.5 3:26 5 Tchaikovsky / Pabst: Paraphrase on Sleeping Beauty 6:58 * 6 Fauré /Wild: Improvisation on “Après un rêve” 2:40 * 7 Bach /Wild: Hommage à Poulenc 4:23 * 8 Mozart / Backhaus: Serenade from Don Giovanni 2:42 9 Churchill /Wild: Reminiscences of Snow White 7:49 * “Whistle While You Work” – “I’m Wishing” – “One Song” – “Heigh-Ho” – “Someday My Prince Will Come” 10 Tchaikovsky /Wild: At the Ball, Op.38, No.3 3:00 * 11 Tchaikovsky /Wild: Dance of the Four Swans from Swan Lake 1:40 12 Johann Strauss, Jr./Tausig: Man lebt nur einmal 7:22 13 Kreisler / Rachmaninov: Liebesleid 4:40 Total Playing Time:66:54 • *World Premiere Recording Producer: Michael Rolland Davis • Engineer: Ed Thompson

1999 Ivory Classics® • All Rights Reserved. 64405-70907 STEREO Ivory Classics® • P.O. Box 341068 Columbus, Ohio 43234-1068 U.S.A. Phone: 888-40-IVORY or 614-761-8709 • Fax: 614-761-9799 ® [email protected] • Website: www.IvoryClassics.com