Earl Wild was an American classical pianist and composer, born on November 26, 1915, and widely associated with the grand Romantic piano tradition. His official website describes him as “the last of the great Romantic pianists” and a virtuoso pianist-composer who performed internationally for more than eight decades.
His most important recordings include Earl Wild Plays His Gershwin Transcriptions, The Art of Earl Wild, Earl Wild at 88, Earl Wild – The Complete RCA Album Collection, and his celebrated recordings of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1–4 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. His best-known repertoire includes Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Concerto in F,” “I Got Rhythm” Variations, and his own virtuoso transcriptions of Gershwin songs. These recordings are listed across Deezer, Amazon Music, Qobuz, and Apple Music.
Earl Wild is known for his dazzling technique, romantic pianism, and brilliant piano transcriptions, especially of music by George Gershwin and Sergei Rachmaninoff. He is remembered as one of the major American classical pianists of the 20th century and one of the last great pianist-composers in the Romantic virtuoso tradition.