(Royland) Earl Wild (November 26, 1915 – January 23, 2010) was an American pianist, renowned as a leading virtuoso of his generation. Harold C. Schonberg called him a "super-virtuoso in the Horowitz class". He was well known for his transcriptions of classical music and jazz, and he was also a composer.
He was a 20th-century media pioneer of sorts. In 1939, he made the first TV broadcast by a pianist. In 1942, Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" was performed on TV for the first time, with Wild at the keyboard. And in 1997, piano music was streamed over the Internet for the first time, as performed by Wild.
2
He was only twenty-one when he first performed and recorded Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". This recording was conducted by Arturo Toscanini and also featured the NBC Symphony Orchestra.. In the stereo era, Wild would re-record the piece with Arthur Fiedler conducting the Boston Pops. He also recorded Gershwin's "Piano Concerto in F".
3
Considered to be one of the greatest American pianists; one of his specialties was the music of George Gershwin. He recorded Gershwin's piano music with such renowned conductors as Arturo Toscanini and Arthur Fiedler. He was also famous for his recordings of all four Rachmaninoff concertos. He did not work exclusively in classical music. He was not afraid to appear on TV variety shows and popular radio programs, which may explain why his career was overshadowed by such pianists as Van Cliburn, though he is regarded as being equal to and superior to Cliburn by many critics.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Caesar's Hour
1954
TV Series
1955-1957 Regular
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue
1952
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Evening at Pops
1971-1974
TV Series documentary
Himself / Himself (pianist)
Sid Caesar Invites You
1958
TV Series
Himself
Words and Music
1958
TV Series
Himself
The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue
1950-1952
TV Series
Himself / Himself - Pianist
Known for movies
The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue (1950-1952) as Himself / Himself - Pianist
Sid Caesar Invites You (1958) as Himself
Caesar's Hour (1954) as 1955-1957 Regular
Evening at Pops (1971-1974) as Himself / Himself (pianist)
$200,000
