The Demonic Liszt

Earl Wild (Artist), Franz Liszt (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Franz Liszt
• Audio CD (May 10, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vanguard Classics
• ASIN: B0000023D2
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,904 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Réminiscences de Robert le diable: Valse infernale, transcription for piano (after Meyerbeer), S. 413 (LW A78)

2. Gnomenreigen, for piano (Zwei Konzertetüden No. 2), S. 145/2 (LW A218/2): Gnomenreigen

3. Mephisto-Polka (I & II), for piano, S. 217 (LW A317)

4. Mephisto Waltz (I & II), for piano No. 1 (Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke), S. 514 (LW A189)

5. Réminiscences de Don Juan (I & II), for piano (after Mozart: Don Giovanni), S. 418 (LW A80)

6. Valse de l'opéra Faust, transcription for piano (after Gounod), S. 407 (LW A208)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Appropriate Title..., July 12, 2001

By 

Sean J. O'Neill (Hanover, IN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Demonic Liszt (Audio CD)

When this recording first hit the shelves in its original Vanguard LP incarnation, the acclaim in the review periodicals was virtually unanimous. The only disclaimer presented by these reviewers (the only meaningful one, at least) was that the sound of the piano was somewhat "brittle". Not every reviewer saw it fit to voice the same reservations, however, and my guess is that only those who routinely shunned recordings that did not capture the "richest and deepest" of tones felt it necessary to comment on this aspect of the recording.

If there is one notion I hope to convey with this review, it is that the striking virtuosity and peerless musicianship demonstrated by Earl Wild on this disc outweigh any concerns stemming from subjective evaluations of the piano's sound. It is worth noting, perhaps, that even those reviewers who mentioned the sound of Wild's piano praised the playing preserved on this recording. The praise was well-deserved: Wild's playing is beyond exciting, and is positively guaranteed to have a hair-raising effect on any listener.

The entire disc is stunning, and selecting only a handful of highlights is a difficult task. At the same time, special mention deserves to be made of Wild's "Mephisto Waltz", which is far and away the best on record. Some will be shocked and surprised by Wild's own flourish tacked onto the end of the piece; Liszt himself, though, often interjected similar passages in public performances of his own works (and works of other composers!) and no doubt would have approved of the gesture. Also worthy of being singled out are the "Reminiscences de Don Juan", Liszt's rousing pianistic tribute to Mozart's "Don Giovanni". Wild's interpretation is practically definitive, and the playing alternates from light-spirited, inspiring, and angelic (e.g., in the "La Ci Darem La Mano" variations) to down-right demonic (one finds that it becomes strangely impossible to avoid using that adjective in reference to this disc). But the best performance on this disc may be the most brief of them all (and, hence, the one that may be most easily overlooked): that is, Liszt's incredible "Gnomenreigen", one of his two Concert Etudes for Piano, S. 145. Give Wild two and some-odd minutes, and he will convince you that at his peak he, along with Cziffra, Richter, and (at his best) Ogden, was one of the top three or four technicians of the latter part of the 20th century.

Lest the reader believe that "The Demonic Liszt" presents Earl Wild as a musically-empty soloist who cares more for technical precision than interpretive coherence - one of the most common criticisms levelled against this gifted player - let me assure you that these are finely crafted readings. While one cannot always make this claim of a Wild recording, in this case (very much like the playing of Wild's equally gifted contemporary Sviatoslav Richter) his boundless technique is employed only as a means to creating a soundly structured end. Incredible fingerwork abounds, but never do we hear technical fireworks displayed simply for their own sake.

An extraordinary artist captured at the height of his powers -- all in all, it makes for a recording that is a must-have for any admirer of great pianism.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exalted company, March 30, 2002

By 

Ben Clift (Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Demonic Liszt (Audio CD)

There are VERY few pieces of virtuoso piano on disc that approach Robert le Diable on this one. The whole disc is brilliant, but that particular piece still slays me every time. Fans of real jazz and good metal will love it too. As Stravinsky said of Beethoven: "contemporary forever"!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Demoniac performances!, February 26, 2005

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Demonic Liszt (Audio CD)

Earl Wild has secured his throne in the immortality as one of the twelve best American pianists of the century. Kapell was the first one and in my opinion the others would be in that exclusive order Rosalyn Tureck. Egon Petri. Leon Fleisher, Earl Wild, Eugene Liszt, Van Cliburn, Byron Janis, Eugene Istomin, Joseph Villa, Raymond Lewenthal, Lorin Hollander, John Browning ,Oscar Levant, Gary Graffman, Leonard Pennario, Selma Kramer, julius Katchen, Abbey Simon and Murray Perahia.

Somehow the enormous stature of this superb pianist has been neglected by unexplainable reasons. Wild , born in 1915 had this sense of span, that whole sound that literally the phrase and sense of the breathing . If Jasha Horenstein chose him to play a set of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerts indicates by itself something. Don't you? . In the other hand his repertoire was strictly romantic. From Dohnayi, Saint Saens, Chopin, his famous performance of Gershwin piano works with Arthur Fielder still are a classic issue.

In the case of Liszt he sounds with authority and convincing expression. He is ver far of making another additional pianist who employs Liszt just only to exhibit himself as a firework player. That concept so admired by the gallery in the XIX fortunately is old fashioned and belongs to the anecdote . However there are names that you and know but by wise discretion is convenient not reveal them.

Buy this album and if you are not absolutely familiarized with Wild moods I guarantee you will make an adjoining rapport with this keyboard artist in these unsurpassable versions only beaten by colossus of the stature of Louis Kentner and Edwin Nyiregyhazi sideral ambassadors in what Lisztian spirit concerns.