A Canadian fly on Liza’s wall

A Canadian fly on Liza’s wall

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norman lebrecht

November 09, 2015

A 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.

marc-andre hamelin

Comments

  • Tim Parry says:

    Earl Wild, not Eric Wild!

    • Jeffrey Biegel says:

      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).

      • Tim Parry says:

        Jeffrey, he was all of those things, of course. But did he really play Scharwenka’s second concerto? (He played and recorded No.1.)

  • Rosana says:

    Hamelin has great flair and Earl Wild’s version of Liza is delicious! Thank you for posting it!

  • Larry says:

    There’s also a great Earl Wild arrangement of “Embraceable You.”

    • WacoJes says:

      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…

    • RODNEY GREENBERG says:

      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.

      • ruben greenberg says:

        This reminds me of Art Tatum’s great rendition of the same song.

      • jeffrey biegel says:

        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!

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