Famous Pianist Dies At 94

Earl Wild, a world-renowned classical pianist and leader of the Romantic revival, died at his home in Palm Springs at age 94 of heart failure

Wild performed for six presidents, including John F. Kennedy at his 1961 inauguration. He served as the musical director of the Palm Springs Desert Museum -- now the Palm Springs Art Museum -- during the 1970s. In 1976, he organized the Palm Springs Desert Museum Piano Festival to showcase new international piano talent.

Wild was born on Nov. 26, 1915, in Pittsburgh, and began taking piano lessons when he was 4 years old. When he was 12, he studied under a protege Franz Liszt, who helped create the Romantic movement in music. Wild began giving radio recitals in Pittsburgh when he was 12 and began playing with the Pittsburgh Symphony when he was 14.

In 1937, Wild joined the NBC network as a staff pianist, and in 1939 he became the first pianist to give a recital on television. After he left the Navy in 1944, Wild became a staff pianist, conductor and composer at ABC, a position he held until 1968.

In the following years, Wild toured and recorded prolifically. Many of his recordings are available on his own imprint, Ivory Classics. He also taught at the Eastman School of Music, Penn State University, Ohio State University, Carnegie Mellon, the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School.

Wild's last performance was at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2008, when he was awarded the President's Merit Award by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Wild was an inspiration for millions of students of easy beginner piano lessons and will be missed by scores of fans.