Composer: George Gershwin, Sergey Rachmaninov, Earl Wild
Performer: Martin James Bartlett
Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Joshua Weilerstein
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Warner
Catalogue: 9029643433
Release: 2022
Size: 2.3 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
01. Variation 1 [Precedente]
Tema – L’istesso tempo
02. Variation 2 (L’istesso tempo)
03. Variation 3 (L’istesso tempo)
04. Variation 4 (Più vivo)
05. Variation 5 (Tempo precedente)
06. Variation 6 (L’istesso tempo)
07. Variation 7 (Meno mosso, a tempo moderato)
08. Variation 8 (Tempo I)
09. Variation 9 (L’istesso tempo)
10. Variation 10 (L’istesso tempo)
11. Variation 11 (Moderato)
12. Variation 12 (Tempo di minuetto)
13. Variation 13 (Allegro)
14. Variation 14 (L’istesso tempo)
15. Variation 15 (Più vivo scherzando)
16. Variation 16 (Allegretto)
17. Variation 17 (Allegretto)
18. Variation 18 (Andante cantabile)
19. Variation 19 (A tempo vivace)
20. Variation 20 (Un poco più vivo)
21. Variation 21 (Un poco più vivo)
22. Variation 22 (Un poco più vivo) [alla breve]
23. Variation 23 (L’istesso tempo)
24. Variation 24 (A tempo un poco meno mosso)
25. Rachmaninov: Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14
26. Rachmaninov: How fair this spot, Op. 21 No. 7
27. Rachmaninov: Polka de V.R.
28. Gershwin: The Man I Love
Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin
29. No. 7, Fascinating Rhythm
30. No. 4, Embraceable You
31. Gershwin: I Got Rhythm (from Girl Crazy & An American in Paris)
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
32. Pt. 1
33. Pt. 2
34. Pt. 3
With this release, there’s no doubt that young English pianist Martin James Bartlett is paying homage to Earl Wild. He began this second album for Warner Classics with the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninov. This Dionysian score left its mark on Wild since he recorded it for the Reader’s Digest label in 1965 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Jascha Horenstein. The American pianist’s presence is really felt in the second part, which includes transcriptions, paraphrases and studies by Earl Wild on works by Rachmaninov and Gershwin. For example, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is one of Wild’s favourites (his recording for RCA with Arthur Fiedler is really worth a listen).
As combative as he is poetic, Martin James Bartlett has come on leaps and bounds since his first recital in 2019, revealing himself here to be a pianist gifted with beautiful sensitivity and irresistible panache (I Got Rhythm). His rendition of The Man I Love is beautifully light and airy. His playing is never rushed, and his sound is bright with a beautiful grain in the midrange. This is impeccably captured by the renowned Arne Akselberg’s sound recording, which makes his search for harmonic depth crystal clear (Where Beauty Dwells). It’s exiting listening. In The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Joshua Weilerstein is very attentive to the pianist’s poetic approach (Variations 17 and 18); both refuse any form of virtuosity or flamboyance, preferring instead to liberate the tragedy: the black drama that Rachmaninov brought to a climax in his American works. Many will be able to overlook the wavering uncertainty of this new proposal, which is far more original than it might seem.