Customer Reviews

Earl Wild - Rachmaninov: Concerto No. 3 in D Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 30; MacDowell: Concerto No. 2 in D Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 23

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I heard this recording of the Rachmaninoff third last night and was blown away. I had to look up the public radio listing this morning and see who played it, since the announcer raced through his name and all I caught was the name of the conductor. Mind you, I have revelled in this piece for decades, with Horowitz, Weissenberg, Janis, Ashkenazy, and most recently Arcady Volodos at the keyboard. I am not claiming Wild is necessarily "better" than any of these artists but he is a powerful and technically brilliant pianist with artistry to spare. This is famously one of the most fiendishly difficult concerti in the repertoire. It's easy to catch errors, as one could with David Helfgott's odd performance. Not here, though. Wild's playing here was romantic, compelling, urgent and scintillating. This was a memorable performance. I can still hear those powerful runs that Wild knocks off with such panache and style. Each note was sharp and clear. He is an amazing pianist and deserves far more recognition than he has received. I have heard him play Liszt with the same results. He's amazing. It is not merely a matter of technical command, either, however. Wild is a musician's musician, who plays with insight, nuance, and precious little of what could be termed affectation. You will not confuse him with Martha Argerich, say. The accompaniment also left nothing to be desired. I fully expected to hear an audience going "wild" after the last note, but there was only silence, reverberating with the magical cascades of notes from this gifted pianist. I regret I cannot comment on the other piece on this disc, the McDowell concerto, but having heard Wild many times before, I would not hesitate to jump in and get this if I were interested in either piece.

Chesky's remaster of Earl Wild's recording of the Grieg Piano Concerto is gorgeous - warm and detailed. The Rachmaninov remasters however are stripped bare - they're too clean. Piano sound is good but the orchestra sounds old and shrill because the warmth has gone. Surprising and disappointing. The Chandos remasters actually sound better - warmer and beefier (and all the concertos and rhapsody are on 2CDs). Performance of course is brilliant.

I have heard lots of Rachmaninoff's Third, and my favorite is Rachmaninoff as soloist. Too many newer recordings are played techinically very well and the recoding quality is well good. The problem is they all sound pretty much the same. I was driving in my car and I heard this CD, and at first I thought I was listening to a re-orchestration
of the concerto. This solo and orchestra performance is a lot different from any I have heard, and I really like it a lot. Wild plays with a lot of strength, and this works well throughout. I am not a musicologist, so I cannot detail more about why I like it. If you like this concerto -- buy this one!