Careful, you may need a smoke after listening to this.

Gorgeous piano!

And one of my favorite pianists!

All is right in the world.

I really can't say which I admire more : the beautifully balanced sound of the piano or the superb, sensitive playing. The voicing of the melody among all the accompanying figures is outstanding.

And this piano is for sale where? I'm going to the bank right now!

Thanks for sharing!

Regards,

Thanks for the compliments Bruce. Yeah, Eric is awesome, and I love his Gershwin playing. You should check out his Gershwin transcription CD:

http://www.erichimy.com/recordings_gershwin_en.php

BTW, this piano was sold a while ago, but I know where you can get another just like it!

Nice playing, nice piano, divine Earl Wild transcription. Thanks.

Thanks Keith for putting this up. A delight to listen to.
And quoting Mike Carr's signature - "smoke 'em if you got 'em"
I don't happen to.

What a beautifully voiced take on that piece! Silky smooth sound on that piano, too.

ooh, love this-- both the playing and the piano! nothing like Gershwin on a great Steinway...

AWESOME, Keith! Thanks for posting this!

I performed most of Earl Wild's Fantasy on Porgy and Bess about 15 years ago. (Had to make a few cuts to keep the audience from getting restless -- it goes on for the better part of half an hour.) I marveled back then at Earl's own recording of the piece (on Chesky -- for my money, the best sound engineering on any piano recording I own). Nonetheless, I was pretty proud of myself for being able to get it in shape.

Now that I've heard Eric's recording, I'm not feeling so good. Even with a great piano (and that B is a beauty), it takes incredible artistry to make the lovely Summertime melody sing out so clearly, softly and beautifully over all the filigree Wild put around it, while making the whole thing float like ground fog. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think his performance of that piece is better than Earl's. I suspect Eric knows the rest of the piece, and I'd love to hear him play it. Can you entice him back for an encore, Keith?

I really need to get in the habit of reading other posts in the thread before chiming in with my own. I completely whiffed on Keith's reference to Eric's Gershwin recording, which features -- you guessed it -- the complete Porgy Fantasy. Sheesh. I'm ordering it tonight.

I am so glad you enjoyed this performance, Phil. Earl Wild was also a fan of Himy's playing of his transcriptions, so I think you are in pretty good company. Himy has also recorded on Wild's label.

Oh that was most enjoyable! & now I'm looking for a cigarette & I don't even smoke!

That was Lovely!