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Virtuoso pianist and composer Earl Wild wrote a good deal of music of the sort represented on this album by pianist John Wilson, but it is by no means clear what it should be called. In the graphics here, the music is designated as transcriptions of Rachmaninov and Gershwin, but that is not quite what they are: with the exception of the Three Preludes of Gershwin, which appear in the middle as a kind of jazzy intermezzo, all the music is altered considerably from its original form. Nor are they fantasies; the pieces, although Wild adds a good deal, remain rooted in the original works rather than having them serve as a point of departure. "Arrangements" would come the closest, but there is more of a sense of freedom than that term would imply, and this freedom is what Wilson catches so well here. Perhaps the closest comparison would be George Gershwin's Song-book of 1932, which adds quasi-improvisatory elements to familiar Gershwin songs. Those pieces were probably created by Gershwin at the keyboard, but they fix in place what might be called explorations of the original works, in much the same way as Wild treats the Rachmaninov songs from the various sets of Romances treated here. The Fantasy on Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is similar; it is not quite a fantasy, for the sections aren't connected. It is more of a suite of expansions and explorations. There are virtuosic junctures in many of these pieces, but keyboard heroics are not the main point, and Wilson offers nice, low-key performances that keep this in mind. Wild's works of this kind have been heard from time to time, but they are generally a bit underexposed, and Wilson's elegant performances are most welcome. Another attraction here is the sound, recorded at California's Soka University; producer Elaine Martone gives the music a certain interiority, and the album helped her garner a Classical Producer of the Year Grammy nomination.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
George Gershwin, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
George Gershwin, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
George Gershwin, Composer - John Wilson, MainArtist
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
John Wilson, MainArtist - Earl Wild, Composer - Michael Rolland Davis Productions, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
Album review
Virtuoso pianist and composer Earl Wild wrote a good deal of music of the sort represented on this album by pianist John Wilson, but it is by no means clear what it should be called. In the graphics here, the music is designated as transcriptions of Rachmaninov and Gershwin, but that is not quite what they are: with the exception of the Three Preludes of Gershwin, which appear in the middle as a kind of jazzy intermezzo, all the music is altered considerably from its original form. Nor are they fantasies; the pieces, although Wild adds a good deal, remain rooted in the original works rather than having them serve as a point of departure. "Arrangements" would come the closest, but there is more of a sense of freedom than that term would imply, and this freedom is what Wilson catches so well here. Perhaps the closest comparison would be George Gershwin's Song-book of 1932, which adds quasi-improvisatory elements to familiar Gershwin songs. Those pieces were probably created by Gershwin at the keyboard, but they fix in place what might be called explorations of the original works, in much the same way as Wild treats the Rachmaninov songs from the various sets of Romances treated here. The Fantasy on Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is similar; it is not quite a fantasy, for the sections aren't connected. It is more of a suite of expansions and explorations. There are virtuosic junctures in many of these pieces, but keyboard heroics are not the main point, and Wilson offers nice, low-key performances that keep this in mind. Wild's works of this kind have been heard from time to time, but they are generally a bit underexposed, and Wilson's elegant performances are most welcome. Another attraction here is the sound, recorded at California's Soka University; producer Elaine Martone gives the music a certain interiority, and the album helped her garner a Classical Producer of the Year Grammy nomination.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
- Total length: 00:58:26
- Main artists: John Wilson
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: AVIE Records
- Genre: Classical
(C) 2023 John Wilson (P) 2023 John Wilson
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