Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Mazurkas: Op. 6, No. 2
2. Mazurkas: Op. 7, No. 2
3. Mazurkas: Op. 7, No. 5
4. Mazurkas: Op. 17, No. 2
5. Mazurkas: Op 17, No 3
6. Mazurkas: Op. 17, No. 4
7. Mazurkas: Op. 24, No. 1
8. Mazurkas: Op. 24, No. 3
9. Mazurkas: Op. 30, No. 3
10. Mazurkas: Op. 33, No. 1
11. Mazurkas: Op. 33, No. 3
12. Mazurkas: Op. 33, No. 4
13. Mazurkas: Op. 41, No. 1
14. Mazurkas: Op. 41, No. 2
15. Mazurkas: Op. 50, No. 2
16. Mazurkas: Op. 50, No. 3
17. Mazurkas: Op. 56, No. 3
18. Mazurkas: Op. 59, No. 1
19. Mazurkas: Op. 59, No. 2
20. Mazurkas: Op. 63, No. 2
21. Mazurkas: Op. 63, No. 3
22. Mazurkas: Op. 67, No. 2
23. Mazurkas: Op. 67, No. 3
24. Mazurkas: Op. 67, No. 4
25. Mazurkas: Op. 68, No. 2
26. Mazurkas: Op. 68, No. 3
27. Mazurkas: Op. 68, No. 4
28. Mazurkas: Op posth. - 'Notre temps'
29. Mazurkas: Op posth - In B Flat

Disc 2:

1. Sonata No. 3, Op. 58 In B Minor: Allegro maestoso
2. Sonata No. 3, Op. 58 In B Minor: Scherzo: Molto vivace
3. Sonata No. 3, Op. 58 In B Minor: Largo
4. Sonata No. 3, Op. 58 In B Minor: Finale: Presto, non tanto
5. Waltz, Op. 18 In E Flat Major
6. Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 In B-Flat Minor: Grave; Doppio movimento
7. Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 In B-Flat Minor: Scherzo
8. Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 In B-Flat Minor: Marche funebre
9. Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 In B-Flat Minor: Presto
10. Nocture, Op. 9, No. 1 In B Flat Minor
11. The Sheperd's Complaint: No. 5, Songs Without Words, Op. 67
12. Romance, Op. 28, No. 2 In F Sharp
13. Sonata No. 16, K. 570 In B Flat: II. Adagio

Disc 3:

1. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Introduction: Allegro vivace; Variation I: (Precedente)
2. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Tema: L'istesso tempo
3. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation II: L'istesso tempo
4. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation III: L'istesso tempo
5. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation IV: Piu Vivo
6. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation V: Tempo precedente
7. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation VI: L'istesso tempo
8. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation VII: Meno mosso, a tempo moderato
9. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43:: Varation VII: Tempo 1
10. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation IX: L'istesso tempo
11. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation X: Poco marcato
12. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XI: Moderato
13. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XII: Tempo di minuetto
14. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XIII: Allegro
15. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XIV: L'istesso tempo
16. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43:: Varation XV: Piu vivo scherzando
17. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XVI: Allegretto
18. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XVII: [Allegretto]
19. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XVIII: Andante cantabile
20. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XIX: A tempo vivace
21. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XX: Un poco piu vivo
22. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XXI: Un poco piu vivo
23. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XXII: Un poco piu vivo (Alla breve)
24. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XXIII: L'istesso tempo
25. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Varation XIV: A tempo un poco meno mosso
26. Concero No. 2, Op. 18 In C Minor: Moderato; Allegro
27. Concero No. 2, Op. 18 In C Minor: Adagio sostenuto
28. Concero No. 2, Op. 18 In C Minor: Allegro scherzando
29. Prelude, Op. 3, No. 2 In C Sharp Minor
30. Preludes, Op. 34: No. 24 In D Minor
31. Preludes, Op. 34: No. 10 In C Sharp Minor
32. Preludes, Op. 34: No. 5 In D Major

Disc 4:

1. Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 In C: Andante; Allegro
2. Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 In C: Tema: Andantino
3. Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 In C: Variation I: Listesso tempo
4. Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 In C: Variation II: Allegro
5. Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 In C: Variation III: Allegro moderato (poco meno mosso)
6. Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 In C: Variation IV: Andante meditativo
7. Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 In C: Variation V: Allegro giusto
8. Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 In C: Tema: Listesso tempo
9. Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 In C: Allegro ma non troppo
10. Concerto: Allegro mastoso
11. Concerto: Andante con anima
12. Concerto: Allegro brillante
13. Preludes, Op. 34: No. 14 In E Flat Minor
14. Preludes, Op. 34: No. 10 In C Sharp Minor
15. Preludes, Op. 34: No. 5 In D Major

Disc 5:

1. Concerto No. 2, Op. 19 In B Flat Major: Allegro con brio
2. Concerto No. 2, Op. 19 In B Flat Major: Largo
3. Concerto No. 2, Op. 19 In B Flat Major: Rondo: Allegro scherzando
4. Moment Musical: Moment Musical In F Minor, D. 780, No. 3
5. Waltz: Waltz In B Major, D. 145, No. 2
6. Waltz: Waltz In B Major, D. 145, No. 6
7. Waltz: Waltz In E Major, D. 365, No. 26
8. Waltz: Waltz In F Major, D. 365, No. 32
9. German Dances: German Dance In B Flat Major, D. 783, No. 6
10. German Dances: German Dance In B Flat Major, D. 783, No. 7
11. Waltz: Waltz, In F Major, D. 365, No. 34
12. Landler: Landler, In G Major, D. 734, No. 1
13. Landler: Landler, In D Major, D. 734, No. 2
14. Impromptu: Impromptu In A Flat Major, D. 935, No. 2
15. Romance: Romance In F Sharp Major, Op. 28, No. 2
16. Intermezzo: Intermezzo In E Major, Op. 116, No. 6
17. Sonetto No. 104 del Petrarca - Liszt
18. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 - Liszt
19. Mephisto Waltz No. 1 - Liszt

Disc 6:

1. Partita No. 4 In D Major, BWV 828: Ouverture
2. Partita No. 4 In D Major, BWV 828: Allemande
3. Partita No. 4 In D Major, BWV 828: Courante
4. Partita No. 4 In D Major, BWV 828: Aria
5. Partita No. 4 In D Major, BWV 828: Sarabande
6. Partita No. 4 In D Major, BWV 828: Menuet
7. Suite In A Minor, BWV 818: Allemande
8. Suite In A Minor, BWV 818: Courante
9. Suite In A Minor, BWV 818: Sarabandes 1 & 2
10. Suite In A Minor, BWV 818: Gigue
11. Sonata In E Flat Major, K. 380 - L. 23
12. Sonata In B Flat Major, K. 570: 2. Adagio
13. From Iberia: Evocacion
14. Piano Playtime: No. 1: Waltz Of The Rainbow
15. Piano Playtime: No. 4: By The Brook
16. Piano Playtime: No. 5: Dancing Bagpipes
17. Piano Playtime: No. 6: Tricky Trumpet
18. Children's Corner: Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum
19. Children's Corner: Jimbo's Lullaby
20. Children's Corner: Serenade For The Doll
21. Children's Corner: The Snow Is Dancing
22. Children's Corner: The Little Shepherd
23. Children's Corner: Golliwog's Cakewalk
24. Toccata ostinato

Disc 7:

1. Sonata In G Minor, Op. 19: Lento; Allegro moderato
2. Sonata In G Minor, Op. 19: Allegro scherzando
3. Sonata In G Minor, Op. 19: Andante
4. Sonata In G Minor, Op. 19: Allegro mosso; Meno mosso; Moderato; Piu vivo
5. Sonata In F Minor, Op. 120, No. 1: Allegro appassionato
6. Sonata In F Minor, Op. 120, No. 1: Andante un poco adagio
7. Sonata In F Minor, Op. 120, No. 1: Allegretto grazioso
8. Sonata In F Minor, Op. 120, No. 1: Vivace
9. Sonata In D Minor, No. 3, Op. 108: Allegro
10. Sonata In D Minor, No. 3, Op. 108: Adagio
11. Sonata In D Minor, No. 3, Op. 108: Un poco presto e con sentimento
12. Sonata In D Minor, No. 3, Op. 108: Presto agitato

Disc 8:

1. Piano Sonata (1941): Molto moderato
2. Piano Sonata (1941): Vivace
3. Piano Sonata (1941): Andante sostenuto
4. Nocturne In E - Flat - Op 55, 2
5. Mazurka In C - Op 33, 3
6. Polonaise-Fantasie In A - Flat - Op 61
7. Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
8. Pictures At An Exhibition: The Gnome
9. Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
10. Pictures At An Exhibition: The Old Castle
11. Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
12. Pictures At An Exhibition: Tuileries
13. Pictures At An Exhibition: Bydlo
14. Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
15. Pictures At An Exhibition: Ballet Of The Unhatched Chicks
16. Pictures At An Exhibition: Samuel Goldenberg And Schmuyle
17. Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
18. Pictures At An Exhibition: Limoges - The Market
19. Pictures At An Exhibition: Catacombs
20. Pictures At An Exhibition: Con mortuis In lingua Mortua
21. Pictures At An Exhibition: The Hut On Fowl's Legs
22. Pictures At An Exhibition: The Great Gate At Kiev
23. No 1 - Kinderszenen: About Foreign Lands And People
24. Sonata In E (K 380) - L. 23

Disc 9:

1. Partita No. 4 In D Major, BWV. 828: Allemande (Beginning)
2. Sonata No. 10 In C Major, K. 330: 1. Allegro moderato (Beginning)
3. Sonata No. 3 In B Minor, Op. 58: 1. Allegro maestoso (Beginning)
4. Sonata No. 3 In B Minor, Op. 58: 3. Largo
5. Mazurka In A Flat Major, Op. 17, No. 3
6. Sonata No. 3 In D Minor, Op. 108: 2. Adagio
7. No. 4, Songs Without Words, Op. 67: Spinning Song
8. Interview With William Kapell

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43085 in Music
• Released on: 1998-09-29
• Number of discs: 9
• Formats: Box set, Original recording remastered

Amazon.com essential recording
Blessed with transcendent technique and an affinity for big, bold Romantic works, William Kapell has been hailed as America's greatest homegrown pianist. This comprehensive collection of his complete recorded output, previously unreleased recordings, and broadcast tapes adds luster to a reputation that's become legendary since his tragic death in a plane crash at age 31. The earliest recordings, from the mid-1940s, bristle with raw energy and virtuosic flourishes tempered by an innate musicality that rises above mere display.

The disc coupling Khachaturian and Prokofiev concertos is charged with excitement; the Rachmaninoff pairing of the Paganini Variations and the Concerto No. 2 weds the Grand Romantic style to poetic lyricism; and an inspired Liszt group is charged with dynamic energy. Best may be the two Chopin discs: spontaneous, rhythmically flexible sonatas and mazurkas. The later recordings demonstrate the repose that comes with artistic maturity, and the "live" broadcasts reveal Kapell's warmth and spontaneity in concert. Splendid transfers help make this long-awaited set appealing to music lovers in general, as well as piano buffs. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Very touched
I wrote my doctoral dissertation on William Kapell (we share the same school, and my teacher was a student of his), and to still see the outpouring of admiration and love for Kapell's art is still very moving for me.

In Memorium
I heard William Kapell play the Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini with the fledgling Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in the late 1940's or very early 1950's. My only memory of the occasion is that I was enthralled. Kapell has held me in thrall ever since.

A few years later, in the middle 50's, I bought Kapell's recording of the same work, with Fritz Reiner and the Robin Hood Dell Orchestra (alias of The Philadelphia Orchestra). I still have that LP, though I wore it out long ago. It was the beginning of my musical education. But since 1998, we have had this wonderful box of reissues from the vaults of RCA. The sound is mostly excellent, considering the age of the monophonic originals. To this day, Kapell's Rachmaninov Rhapsody remains-in my opinion-the most impassioned, yet the most musical, reading of the piece ever recorded. No one had, or has, Kapell's combination of white-hot temperament, technical brilliance, and musical insight. We have had musical geniuses; technical wizards abound. It is the combination of these gifts, as Kapell possessed them in particular, married to his incendiary passion, that made him unique.

He was still learning, and he was learning at such an astounding rate! He had moved from Khachaturian to the most unforgettable Chopin B minor Sonata ever recorded in little more than a decade. His deep throated, noble, and articulate Bach has caused some to speculate that Glenn Gould might have found his inspiration in Kapell. One Gould biographer, and a New York critic, wrote that the reverse was true. The critic acknowledged the error, in print, noting that Kapell could not have been influenced by Gould's style since he had been dead for two years by the time of Gould's debut recital in New York City in 1955.

The lyrical side of romantic music is not what Kapell was or is known for, not his "style" as people remember him now. But listening to the lyrical music in this set shows a side of him that was, nevertheless, as real as any, and perhaps more revealing. It also gives us a notion of what we might have expected of William Kapell had he lived a normal span of years and played a normal variety of music. In a live performance, he plays Chopin's Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 1, with melting legato and exquisite timing: his innate sense about when to tug on the beat and when to surge forward makes the music breathe. His use of dynamic variety demands the greatest respect: at one point, the repetition of a melodic phrase is but a pale echo of its first statement. His tonal palette is no less wondrous. When a deep bass note suddenly appears, early in the A section of the ABA structure, it sounds-not loud nor quiet, not muffled nor distinct-but awesomely subterranean. Kapell begins the piece without much sustaining pedal, but in the B section, he subtly adds more and more. Then, when the A section returns near the end, the pedal disappears. This dramatic change in color-along with Chopin's change of key-seems like the parting of clouds. We are in the hands of two masters here, Chopin and Kapell. Kapell gave this performance in Carnegie Hall in February of 1945, when he was twenty-two years old.

In the Bach and Chopin works I've discussed, the steely, percussive tone that some speak of is nowhere to be heard. Rather, we hear a full, rich, and complex piano tone. In the Chopin Sonatas, the Debussy pieces, and the Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Debussy, and Albeniz, the sound Kapell produces is beautiful and varied.

He was a chamber musician of the first order, as his collaborations with Heifetz prove. (He was one of the very few musicians who had the force of personality to make Heifetz accompany HIM. And you can hear it.) And if you've never heard Rachmaninov's great Cello Sonata, played here with the grand Russian/German cellist Edmund Kurtz, you're in for a treat. There are several fine, modern stereo recordings, but this one is special. The piano part is very important-Rachmaninov did write it, after all-and Kapell is magnificent. This was Rachmaninov's next published work after the 2nd Piano Concerto, to give you an idea of its melodic grandeur. If there is a flaw here, it is that the piano is recorded too far back, relative to the cello.

Kapell died on October 30, 1953. He had just turned thirty-three. He played his last recital in Geelong, Australia, on the 22nd. It included the Chopin 2nd Piano Sonata which contains the well-known "Marche funèbre." That performance is included here, transferred from the original acetates. It is a great performance but very hard to listen to now, in light of what was to follow just over a week later. I am writing this one day short of the 52nd anniversary of Kapell's death. Had he lived until today, he would be younger than either Earl Wild or Ivan Moravec, both of whom are still making magnificent music. For those of us who love William Kapell's music, it is heartbreaking to consider, and fruitless. Thank Heaven we have recordings like the ones in this set. They are essential for any lover of good music.

John Pendley

Priceless Souvenirs from a Rare Genius: Ave Atque Vale
During the last century we have had many tragic losses in the arts, often affecting men and women who are at the peak of their careers, shimmering with excellence, only to be silenced by death and all too often, by accidental death. The names of Anton Webern, Fritz Wunderlich, WG Sebald, Sylvia Plath, Dinu Lipatti, and so many others arise, but none as tragic as the death of William Kapell in 1953.

William Kapell is still considered by most as the America's greatest pianist, even fifty odd years after his death at the age of 31 in a plane crash. Those who heard him perform still rhapsodize over the magic he created. Those of us who are left with only recordings, such as this spectacular boxed set of all of his recordings, can only be uplifted by the man's genius, his extraordinary technical facility, and his intuitive, profound approach to the great works of music.

All styles of music were easily accessible to Kapell. Listen to the Mozart, Bach, Scarlatti, Paganini and Mendelssohn and try to imagine performances of more clarity and finesse than these. His Chopin is well represented in this set and glows with the uncanny power and tenderness that Chopin combined in his works. His works for solo piano by Rachmaninov and Shostakovich are the gold standard, and yet his Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mussorgsky and Liszt raise the bar for excellence that has since not been excelled. Joyously this set includes concerti including Prokofiev, Beethoven, Khachaturian, and Rachmaninov with the various conductors who saw Kapell's gifts and championed them.

The memory of this great artist is felt throughout the year, but never as acutely as on October 29th which marks the date of his cruel death. The world was brightened for too short a time by William Kapell, yet because of his recorded legacy his legend lives on. This is an impossibly fine box set of treasures. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, October 05