Disc Number:
Chesky Records CD 1, DDD
Contents:
Nikolai Medtner:
Second Improvisation, Op. 47 (in the form of variations)
Artists:
Earl Wild piano
Recorded Date:
February 1988 in Fernleaf Abbey, piano: Baldwin
Producer:
Michael Rolland Davis
Engineer:
Ed Thompson
Piano Technician:
Andrei Svetlichny
This performance exhibits one of the greatest pianists of our age at the height of his technical and interpretive genius. Melodic lines emerge trenchantly out of richly resonant harmonies, and individual voices are well-pronounced without diminishing the overall effect of the texture. Wild’s pedal work is astonishing. He is clearly in control of the work’s complexities. It is one of the most natural, realistic acoustics I have experienced among solo recordings. At $50, this disc would be worth every cent.
Robert Hesson, Stereophile, June 1989.