A Canadian fly on Liza’s wall
mainA little treat for a gloomy Monday: Marc-André Hamelin playing Eric Wild’s arrangement of Gershwin’s Liza, first release on Slipped Disc in Stewart French’s Fly on The Wall video series.
Enjoy.
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Earl Wild, not Eric Wild!
Earl was one of the great exponents of the Golden Age. His arrangements are superlative, and his own performances exemplary. He performed everything from Scharwenka’s 2nd concerto to writing his own Variations on Stephen Foster’s ‘Doo Dah’ for Piano and Orchestra. (He recorded the latter with the Des Moines Symphony–fabulous piece–fabulous recording).
Jeffrey, he was all of those things, of course. But did he really play Scharwenka’s second concerto? (He played and recorded No.1.)
It was 1, yes. My finger played a bad note on the HP (Hewlett Packard piano keys–LOL!)
In the days of TV staff orchestras Wild was ABC Network staff pianist in addition to his solo career.
Hamelin has great flair and Earl Wild’s version of Liza is delicious! Thank you for posting it!
Hamelin is a fine Gershwin performer. I heard him do a delightful Symphony in F a few seasons back.
I suppose you mean Concerto in F.
Of course I do. I have not been able to shake myself awake all day — sorry about that. Better not bake anything!
There’s also a great Earl Wild arrangement of “Embraceable You.”
If you plan to list all the great Earl Wild arrangements, you’ll have a long list.
Try his Rachmaninoff song arrangements, if you don’t know them. Or just
enjoy them again if you do…
This CD has it all … including “Rhapsody in Blue” recorded in 1945 with Paul Whiteman’s special treat: an added 16-voice chorus:
http://www.ivoryclassics.com/releases/70702/
There’s a link to Earl Wild’s transcriptions in score.
This reminds me of Art Tatum’s great rendition of the same song.
In addition to his transcriptions, I do seriously hope the younger pianists in our midst will take time and learn his ‘Doo-Dah’ Variations for piano and orchestra. Terrific piece!
I’ve often wondered why nobody is playing that yet. It would be a sure hit with audiences.