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Wild still plays with the focus of a prodigy
Tuesday, August 08, 2000 By Andrew Druckenbrod, Post-Gazette Classical Music Writer
Ever since Mozart, youth has monopolized the attention when it comes to prodigies. The American pianist Earl Wild knows about this -- he was one of the great child talents of the 20th century. But why should the concept be wedded to youth? At 84, Wild is as much a prodigy as he was when he read music at age 6.
"Much of getting older is upstairs, in your head," says the native of the Knoxville section of Pittsburgh. "I am more focused now than I ever was."
Proof of that are two recently released Ivory Classics discs featuring his talents. The albums reveal a master still going strong, still blessed with artistic vision and stout technique. They compare favorably to the pianist's playing in the prime of his career, evidenced by yet another record label's release of some radio broadcasts from 1947-48 (although Wild has a bone to pick with that release). Wild's ability to continue play at such a high level is stunning, especially when repetitive stress disorders have claimed countless pianists half or even a fourth his age.
"His hands are very supple; you would think he was a 5-year-old," says Ivory Classics president Michael Rolland Davis, who is also Wild's manager. "He takes very good care of himself. He relaxes so well at the keyboard that he doesn't have any hand problems. It has really paid off."
Wild, who now lives in Columbus, in part credits his longevity to Dutch pianist Egon Petri, who taught him to avoid awkwardly stressing his body when playing.
In addition to his problem-free technique, Wild's open-mindedness may also have played a role in his continued success. From his identification early with Gershwin, he has not been afraid to play music on the fringe of the classical canon. This approach began in Pittsburgh, where growing up "you liked people for what they were," he says. Both new Ivory Classics discs show the benefits of that openness.
The first is a transcription by Wild of Schumann and Dohnanyi piano quintets (E-flat major and C minor, respectively), with augmented strings and added bass parts. Wild has been praised throughout his career for his important transcriptions. These particular ones may not be the most needed, but they showcase that he is willing to look at the classics in an uncodified way.
"Things in a piece aren't sacred," he says. "Every time that Toscanini performed Webern, he changed the brass parts.... All the composers that I knew, if you would suggest a change for the better, they would change it." Wild also defends augmenting the performing forces because contemporary venues diminish the impact of pieces conceived for more intimate spaces. "The halls are bigger; the acoustics are not as good. All the old European venues where the concerts were given had a marvelous resonance."
The second disc is an eclectic grouping of piano sonatas by Barber (Op. 26), Stravinsky (from 1924) and Hindemith (No. 3) and also includes a new piece by Wild called "Sonata (2000)." As if to put a finer point on his flexibility, its last movement is a Latin American-flavored toccata subtitled "a la Ricky Martin."
Written after the singer's "Livin' La Vida Loca" explosion, Wild says he was simply inspired by Martin's ease at performing. "He exudes happiness, as compared to the numerous rock groups that exude ugly." Wild injected Martin's rhythmic style into the movement and feels that invigorated the piece. He figures that some classical types will poke fun at him about it, but it won't bother him. "So far, I haven't got a ribbing," he jokes.
Wild has never met Martin, but he did know all of the composers on the disc. "One day I was playing Barber's 'Excursions,' and the blues movement didn't sound right to me. I said to him, 'Would you play this for me?' and he changed all the sixteenth notes to triplets. He saw them as long sixteenth notes." Wild's performance of the Barber sonata is, like the others on the disc, filled with artful flexibility.
With all that he has learned from others, Wild has been interested in passing his knowledge and experience on to the generations after him, which includes teaching part time at his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University (then Carnegie Institute of Technology). He left the school in the '30s to work at NBC in New York City, leading to his famous breakthrough soloing in Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."
Earlier this summer, however, he got what Davis calls an "odd" letter from CMU School of Music head Kenneth Keeling Sr., saying that Wild would not be invited back to teach at CMU in the 2000-2001 season due to financial restraints. But the situation has changed, according to the university.
"I have gotten assurances that the funds will be available," says Keeling. "It's not a regular part of our budget, not a regular teaching contract, and this year we have had some budget problems." But Keeling says that since he sent that letter, he has found funds to continue the association with the "No. 1 person who has graduated from the school of music in the history of the department."
"It's really a bonus for our students," says Keeling. "He is a wonderful person to have come -- not only an alumnus, but a great person who relates to people. We have been able to keep it going under difficult circumstances [and] we are going to continue our relationship with him."
Another bump in the road for Wild came in the recent release by the British record label Pearl of two 1947-48 radio transcriptions of Wild playing solo piano works by Buxtehude, Hindemith and others. The release made Wild and Davis hopping mad. Although the original broadcast recording is in the public domain, Pearl did not extend the courtesy of telling Wild about its release.
"When [Ivory Classics] reissues discs, I am always contacting the estates and even paying them for it," says Davis. "They could have at least had his input in it." But worse is the poor quality of Pearl's remastering, according to Davis. Since they were originally recorded on poor-quality acetates, they are noisy. Davis feels that much of this could have been cleaned up by a proper remastering.
"I would've liked to do it myself, and I would have done it better," he says. "Obviously labels like Pearl are not out to make the artists sound better."
Wild is even more to the point. "It's disgusting for one reason: They didn't spend any money on making it sound right," he says. "For them for not telling you, it's low class."
Neither Pearl Records nor its parent company, Pavilion Records, would respond specifically to the comments except to say that management there would "be happy to speak to Mr. Wild" about the issue.
Despite the distractions, Wild is gearing up for a gala 85th birthday season. The highlight will certainly come Nov. 29 at Carnegie Hall in New York when he gives a solo recital. It will be the first time he has played there since his 80th birthday celebration. As for performances locally, there are none scheduled, although he will likely perform at CMU at some point.
In any case, Wild's ride shows no sign of slowing down: "I just consider myself lucky; even people 20 years younger seem older," he says "I was lucky in the genetic sense."
Wild's releases on Ivory Classics are "20th & 21st Century Piano Sonatas," (Ivory Classics 71005) and "Schumann and Dohnanyi Piano Quintets," with the American String Orchestra, Isaiah Jackson, conductor (Ivory Classics 71003). The Pearl release of Earl Wild 1947-48 radio broadcasts is Pearl GEM 0091.
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