Reynaldo Hahn - Le Rossignol éperdu (Earl Wild)

Information

Composer: Reynaldo Hahn

• Le Rossignol éperdu

Earl Wild, piano

Date: 2001

Label: Ivory

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Review

You’d think that at 86 Earl Wild would have surveyed all of the forgotten Romantic piano literature that’s worth reviving. Not quite, folks! Here’s an absolutely exquisite cycle of “53 poèmes pour piano” by Reynaldo Hahn, collectively titled Le Rossignol Éperdu (The Distraught Nightingale). Synthesize early Scriabin preludes, the sparse lyricism of late Liszt, Fauré’s subtle harmonic palette, the delicate balance of Mompou’s piano miniatures, plus Massenet’s melodic fluidity, and you’ve got the gist of Hahn’s attractive if modestly deployed keyboard writing. The pieces range from 30 seconds to eight minutes and draw inspiration from literary and artistic images, but you don’t need to know that in order to simply enjoy them as pure music. Under Earl Wild’s seasoned but spirited fingers, each piece seemingly unfolds by itself with no trace of interpretive baggage. The full, somewhat dry engineering conveys an intimate drawing room ambience that suits this project well. Add Lord Londonderry’s fascinating annotations, and you’ll wonder where these treasures have been hiding before Wild took up their cause. I only hesitate to call this important release “the crown jewel of Earl Wild’s recorded legacy” because you never know what this eternally youthful pianist has in store for us next!

— Jed Distler

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Reynaldo Hahn (9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer best known for his elegant art songs. Moved to Paris as a child, he studied at the Conservatoire under Jules Massenet and later served as music critic for Le Figaro before becoming director of the Paris Opéra in 1945. Hahn composed operettas, ballets, incidental music and piano works, with Ciboulette (1923) among his most successful stage works. Inspired by literary figures such as Marcel Proust, he created music admired for its lyricism and refinement. His song Si mes vers avaient des ailes remains a concert favourite.

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Earl Wild (November 26, 1915 – January 23, 2010) was an American pianist. He studied under Selmar Janson, Marguerite Long, Egon Petri and Helene Barere, among others. Throughout his career, Wild was renowned for his virtuoso recitals and master classes held around the world, from Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo to Argentina, England and throughout the United States. He created numerous virtuoso solo piano transcriptions, including 14 songs by Rachmaninoff (1981), and several works on themes by Gershwin, as well as transcriptions of Berlioz, Buxtehude, Chopin, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, and Tchaikovsky.

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