Martin Jones - Rachmaninoff: Virtuoso Arrangements for Piano by Earl Wild (2017)

Tracklist
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01. Jarabe Tapatío: Mexican Hat Dance (Arr. Wild)
02. 14 Romances, Op. 34: No. 14, Vocalise (Arr. Wild)
03. 12 Romances, Op. 14: No. 5, These Summer Nights (Arr. Wild)
04. 6 Romances, Op. 38: No. 3, Amid the Din of the Ball (Arr. Wild)
05. 6 Romances, Op. 4: No. 3, In the Silence of the Secret Night (Arr. Wild)
06. 12 Romances, Op. 14: No. 2, The Isle (Arr. Wild)
07. Swan Lake, Op. 20: Dance of the Four Swans (Arr. Wild)
08. 12 Romances, Op. 14: No. 11, Spring Waters (Arr. Wild)
09. 12 Romances, Op. 21: No. 7, How Fair This Spot (Arr. Wild)
10. Improvisation on Après une rêve (Arr. Wild)
11. 6 Romances, Op. 4: No. 4, Do Not Sing, My Beauty (Arr. Wild)
12. 12 Romances, Op. 21: No. 8, On the Death of a Linnet (Arr. Wild)
13. Reminiscences of Snow White (Arr. Wild)
14. 14 Romances, Op. 34: No. 1, The Muse (Arr. Wild)
15. 12 Romances, Op. 21: No. 12, How Painful for Me (Arr. Wild)
16. Hommage à Poulenc
17. 15 Romances, Op. 26: No. 7, To the Children (Arr. Wild)
18. 12 Romances, Op. 14: No. 8, Oh, Do Not Grieve! (Arr. Wild)
19. 6 Romances, Op. 38: No. 5, The Dream (Arr. Wild)
Mention the pianist Earl Wild and you will conjure the term virtuoso, indeed, super-virtuoso. Apianist who in Liszt's definition is 'called upon to make emotion speak and weep and sigh. He creates passions he will call to light in all their brilliance... he will call up scent and blossom and breathe the breath of life.' All in all a cornucopia of pianistic magic performed with grace, relish and fluency by Martin Jones, England's most recorded pianist. This second tribute follows his earlier disc of Earl Wild's Gershwin transcriptions. With his own distinctive voice he nonetheless reminds me of a recital given by Wild in London in 1982. Writing of that occasion I told of how 'seemingly millions of notes sparkled and cascaded from those extraordinary fingers.' Today, Martin Jones, like his predecessor, gives new meaning and a new lease of life to virtuosity, a tired term resurrected.