William Kapell – Artistes Repertoires (2 CD, APE)

Performer: William Kapell
Orchestra: NBC Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Robin Hood Dell Orchestra
Conductor: Vladimir Golschmann, Sergey Koussevitzky, Fritz Reiner
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Claude Debussy, Dmitry Shostakovich, Frederic Chopin, et al.
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: RCA Victor
Size: 488 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by NBC Symphony Orchestra
with William Kapell
Conducted by Vladimir Golschmann

# Moment musical for piano in F minor (“Air russe”), D. 780/3 (Op. 94/3)
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# Waltzes (12), Ländler (17) and Écossaises (9) for piano, D. 145 (Op. 18) no. 2, in b
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# Waltzes (12), Ländler (17) and Écossaises (9) for piano, D. 145 (Op. 18) no. 6, in b minor
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# Originaltänze (36) for piano (Erste Walzer), D. 365 (Op. 9) no. 26, in e
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# Originaltänze (36) for piano (Erste Walzer), D. 365 (Op. 9) no. 32 in f
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# German Dances (16) and Ecossaises (2) for piano, D. 783 (Op. 33) no. 6, in b-flat
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# German Dances (16) and Ecossaises (2) for piano, D. 783 (Op. 33) no. 7, in b-flat
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# Originaltänze (36) for piano (Erste Walzer), D. 365 (Op. 9) no. 34, in f
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# Ländler (16) & Écossaises (2) for piano (Wiener Damen-Ländler), D. 734 (Op. 67) no. 1 in g
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# Ländler (16) & Écossaises (2) for piano (Wiener Damen-Ländler), D. 734 (Op. 67) no. 2, in d
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# Impromptus (4) for piano, D. 935 (Op. posth. 142) no. 2, in a-flat
Composed by Franz Schubert
with William Kapell

# Children’s Corner, suite for piano (or orchestra), L. 113
Composed by Claude Debussy
with William Kapell

# Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 34 No. 14 in e-flat minor
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
with William Kapell

# Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 34 No. 10 in c-sharp minor
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
with William Kapell

# Preludes (24) for piano, Op. 34 No. 5 in d
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
with William Kapell

# Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, CT. 202
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
with William Kapell

# Piano Concerto in D flat major (also arranged for 2 pianos)
Composed by Aram Khachaturian
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
with William Kapell
Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

# Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Introduction and 24 Variations), in A minor for piano & orchestra, Op. 43
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
Performed by Robin Hood Dell Orchestra
with William Kapell
Conducted by Fritz Reiner

In memoriam of a genius!

Every October 29th – unavoidably – our mind and soul focus on the still opened wound about the sudden, incomprehensible and absurd disappearance of that genius of the keyboard in that fatidic flight.

William Kapell was called to be the most extraordinary North American pianist ever born. The gaze of his immediate influence is easily perceived in superb masters of the piano (Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman, Byron Janis, Lorin Hollander or van Cliburn). But despite of all these elapsed years, the flame of his creator genius keeps lightning the febrile imagination of countless artists around the world.

Fifty four years after this terrible fact, the real magnitude of his loss is still present. Just a few and very counted soloists in the history of the music may be proud to share this league. I should cite Pablo Casals, Martha Landowska, Albert Schweitzer, Joseph Szigeti, Jacques Thibaud, David Oistrakh; Sviatoslav Richter, Arturo Benedetti Mchelangeli and Victoria de los Angeles.

The difference that makes the difference among him and the rest was that imperturbable style of playing, absolutely focused on the work, and that continuous worriment by making better and better.

The Prokoviev’ s Third is still a reference pattern ( The other superb version belongs to Samson Francois still available in his set of 8 CDs) respect all the others must be compared.

But where the level of performance is impossible to equal or even overcome is his powerful, igneous, penetrating and mercurial version of Kachaturian Piano Concerto. And I even go further; the rest of the pianists (by respect to his memory should be abstain themselves to play it), because in similar terms equals to compare Casals playing Bach’s Six Suites respect any other mortal.