Rachmaninov: Chopin & Corelli Variations, Rachmaninov/Wild: Four Songs

Contents:
Rachmaninov:
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op.22

Rachmaninov / Wild:
Vocalise Op.34, No.14

In the Silent Night Op.4, No.3

Do Not Grieve Op.14, No.8

Floods of Spring Op.14, No.11

Rachmaninov:
Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op.42

Artists:
Earl Wild piano

Recorded Date:
May 1991 in Fernleaf Abbey, piano: Baldwin
Producer:
Michael Rolland Davis
Engineer:
Ed Thompson
Piano Technician:
Greg Comly
Earl Wild is one of our leading living exponents of Rachmaninov and this is the first time he’s recorded any of the large-scale solo piano works. He faces the challenges head-on. As his performances of the song transcriptions (especially his seductively lavish remodeling of the Vocalise) make clear, he still has the technique to numb us with sheer brilliance. He courageously chooses not to do so; instead, we get an uncommonly detailed and seasoned reading. Wild’s concern for inner lines never leads him to clog the horizontal flow. As in his fervent performances of the transcriptions, his technique is absolutely secure.

Peter J. Rabinowitz, Fanfare, February 1992