Liszt - Sonata in B Minor, Polonaise No. 2, Etudes de Concert, Transcendental Etudes, Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos 4, 12 & 2 / Performed by Earl Wild, piano / Produced by Michael Rolland Davis / Etcetera / KTC 2010 / 2 CD

MADE IN GERMANY

TOTAL TIME: 105:34 

UPC B004P3XYLK

Franz Liszt (German: [ˈlɪst]; Hungarian: Liszt Ferencz, in modern usage Liszt Ferenc [ˈlist ˈfɛrɛnt͡s]; 22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger and organist of the Romantic era. He was also a writer, a philanthropist, a Hungarian nationalist and a Franciscan tertiary.

Liszt gained renown in Europe during the early nineteenth century for his prodigious virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was a friend, musical promoter and benefactor to many composers of his time, including Frédéric Chopin, Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, Robert Schumann, Camille Saint-Saëns, Edvard Grieg, Ole Bull, Joachim Raff, Mikhail Glinka, and Alexander Borodin.

A prolific composer, Liszt was one of the most prominent representatives of the New German School (Neudeutsche Schule). He left behind an extensive and diverse body of work which influenced his forward-looking contemporaries and anticipated 20th-century ideas and trends. Among Liszt's musical contributions were the symphonic poem, developing thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form, and radical innovations in harmony.

Earl Wild (November 26, 1915 – January 23, 2010) was an American pianist known for his transcriptions of jazz and classical music.

Wild created numerous virtuoso solo piano transcriptions: 14 pieces by Rachmaninoff, and works on themes by Gershwin. His Grand Fantasy on Airs from Porgy and Bess, the first extended piano paraphrase on an American opera, was recorded in 1976 and had its concert premiere in Pasadena on December 17, 1977. He also wrote Seven Virtuoso Études on Popular Songs, based on Gershwin songs such as "The Man I Love", "Fascinating Rhythm" and "I Got Rhythm", and Theme and Variations on George Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" (1989).

He also wrote a number of original works. These included a large-scale Easter oratorio, Revelations (1962), the choral work The Turquoise Horse (1976), and the Doo-Dah Variations, on a theme by Stephen Foster (1992), for piano and orchestra. His Sonata 2000 had its first performance by Bradley Bolen in 2003 and was recorded by Wild for Ivory Classics.

DISC 1

I. SONATA (G.178)

in B Minor * en Si mineur * h-moll 28:28
2. POLONAISE No. 2 (G.223) (Coda: Busoni)
| in E Major * en Mi majeur * E-dur 8:57
| ETUDES DE CONCERT
3. La Leggierezza (G.144) 4:51
4. Un Sospiro (G.144) 5:10
5. Gnomenreigen (G.145) 2:55
6. Waldesrauschen (G.145) 3:53

DISC 2

ETUDES D’EXECUTION TRANSCENDANTE (G.139)
I. No. 2inA Minor‘ enla mineur * a-moll 2:21
2. No. 7 Eroica 4:07
3. No. 9 Ricordanza/Souvenir 9:50
4. No. 10in F Minor ° en fa mineur ° f-moll 4:40
3. No. 3 Paysage 4:59
RHAPSODIES HONGROISES (G.244)
HUNGARIAN RHAPSODIES
UNGARISCHE RHAPSODIEN
6. No. 4 Quasi adagio altieramente
in E Flat Major ‘ en Mi bémol majeur * Es-dur 4:55
7. No. 12 Mesto
in C Sharp Minor ° en ut diése mineur * cis-moll 9:49
8. No. 2 Lentoacapriccio
in C Sharp Minor * en ut diése mineur * cis-moll 10:02

EARL WILD
PRODUCED BY MICHAEL ROLLAND DAVIS