Wild does Liszt justice

Press, 8 March 1978, Page 6

Wild does Liszt justice

B)

C. FOSTER BROWNE

The American Arts Festival guest, Earl Wild, held a big audience its thrall with his immaculate piano playing in the James Hay Theatre yesterday. In a programme of works by Liszt, he showed prodigious command over Wide varieties of tone, never allowed a portion of a phrase to go by without elegant and meaningful shaping, and brought forth stylish and convincing interpretations. His Liszt raised memories of the incomparable Gina Bachauer, and left a regret that we are not likely to

hear him in the great Bj minor sonata. He began with “Les Funerailles,” and challenged interest at once with the opening bass notes. From then on every sound raised visions of the trappings and ceremonial of the Offices of the Dead, in places where ritual is • understood and carried out with impressive dignity. Then in “Ricordanza” he gave us rich and wistful remembrances of a; full life. In “Gnomen-reigen” we had the sprightly and deft movements of feet of the gnomes in mischievous and happy dance, and in the Second Ballade in B minor

there was spread out a wealth of colour and of metamorphoses of themes and evocations of meaning. It all was gathered together in the Mephisto Waltz, which crowded the stage with whirling figures of sinister purport in dramatic furore.

All this was vividly and unmistakably called forth without any mock heroics of stagecraft. Wild let the composer and the music speak to us without frills and furbelows, showing that it was a master of interpretation playing to us, and in that way all the more convinced us that it was so. It was all highly impressive.