Earl Wild(1915-2010)

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.