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Earl Wild made a number
of recordings for Reader’s Digest over
the years and two are herewith returned
to the catalogue courtesy of Ivory Classics
(the Medtner is not from the same source).
The Mussorgsky was recorded in London
in 1966 and the Tchaikovsky a decade
later in New York – with the Medtner
Improvisation dating from 1969. Taking
Pictures first one must accede
to Wild’s sometimes ripely romantic
profile - there are moments when he
bolsters the score with touches of his
own – but also probably capitulate to
his leonine pianism. The opening Promenade
shows his rich and poetic tonal reserves
– no hardening yet with grandly flourishing
bass line. His Gnomus is properly malign,
the Old Castle measured and Tuileries
rippling delicately. His Bydlo is very
quick and somewhat unvaried but The
Market Place at Limoges has all the
drive and verve one could want – as
well as some breathtaking dynamic variations
at speed. His Baba-Yaga is finely chiselled
and rhythmically controlled and in the
Great Gate he prefers a gradual screwing
up of tension to intense and overwhelming
drama. Some personalised touches here
apart this is colourful and consonantly
invigorating pianism.
The Seasons is intriguing
coupling and receives a reading of great
verve and élan. He takes quite
a few relatively briskly – but as February
demonstrates he has each movement under
great control. May (Starlit Nights)
is especially rich in sonorous depth
and expressive nuance, Wild’s touch
of memorable depth, whilst he brings
grace and sheer charm to the Chopinesque
Barcarolle of June. He hardly stints
the compressed grandeur either, proving
himself to be grandly seigniorial in
the Hunt of September. The programme
is completed by a superfine Medtner
– note how deliciously he exploits the
pesante moments.
Jonathan Woolf
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Earl Wild (piano) 
