MUSIC REVIEW : Wild Shows Virtuosity, Style at the Bowl

Forget the birthday and forget his age. Even though Earl Wild will be 80 in November, and even though he embodies both towering pianistic virtuosity and an intimate Romantic sensibility, his performances are not now, or were they ever, intimidating or sober.

A Wild recital, a second example of which the American musician brought to Hollywood Bowl Wednesday night before a small but vociferous crowd of 4,865 piano-lovers, is simply great fun. With his impish grin and quiet seriousness at the keyboard, Wild may be one of the great poet-philosophers of the piano, but first he is having a good time. And giving pleasure.

Heroic and demonic Liszt-playing and illuminating, beautifully shaped Chopin have long been this pianist’s hallmarks, so it could be no surprise that Liszt’s “horrifyingly difficult” (in the words of a colleague) “Dante” Sonata and a group of four meltingly lyric Chopin waltzes became the high points of this outdoor recital. But the rest of the evening also achieved an equal plateau of communicativeness.

Then, after the program-closing “Alborada del Gracioso” (by Ravel), there was gold in two wondrous encores: Chopin’s “Fantaisie-Impromptu” and Wild’s own, joyous transcription of the Pas de Quatre from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake.” At that point, as, indeed, throughout this event, there was appropriate whooping and hollering.

This was a special performance from beginning to end.

His account of Beethoven’s E-flat Sonata, Opus 31, No. 3, elegantly found all the wit and hidden messages in that sometimes neglected piece. Then, Mendelssohn’s “Rondo capriccioso” reminded us again that making the piano both sing and dance can be done within the same piece: It became perfectly beauteous.