Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kapell's brilliant Beethoven, 10 Nov 2008
This is a welcome remastering of the brilliant recording of Beethoven's 2nd played by Kapell with dazzling virtuosity & noble style. Listening to his recordings, I cannot help wondering what a pianist he might have made in his maturity and if his phenomenal pianism was captured by RCA stereo recording!
Deeply felt performance of Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata (I haven't come across any good recording of this work yet) makes good filler.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Legacy of William Kapell, 21 May 2008
Great Pianists: William Kapell (1922 - 1953) plays Beethoven, Schubert, Rachmaninov. Contains:
1. Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19. NBC Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Golschmann. Recorded in Carnegie Hall, New York City, on 24th June 1946 by RCA Victor. First issued on 78 rpm RCA album M-1132. (For this transfer, the later LP edition was used as it was made from quiet lacquer masters recorded at the same time as the wax masters for the 78s.)
2. Franz Schubert, A Selection of Waltzes and Dances (D. 145, Nos. 2+6; D. 365, Nos. 26,32+34; D. 734, No. 1; D. 783, Nos. 6+7). William Kapell, piano. Recorded in the RCA Studios in Hollywood on 3rd July, 1952. First issued on LP RCA Victor LM-1791.
3. Sergej Rachmaninov, Cello Sonata, Op. 19. Edmund Kurtz, violoncello; William Kapell, piano. Recorded at RCA Studio No. 2, New York City, on 23rd and 24th April 1947. First issued on RCA album M-1261. (These transfers were taken from a set of 45 rpm discs made from lacquer masters, with the exception of the second side which appears to have been made from a noisier wax master).
Digital transfer and production: Mark Obert-Thorn. This CD edition released as Naxos Historical 8.110767 in 2005. Total playing time: 65'17".
The tragic death of William Kapell in a plane crash in 1953 ended the promising career of a young pianist who was under the spell of Horowitz and whose first loves were the Russian school of composers (Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Katschaturian). Kapell was signed up early by RCA Victor, and this CD presents a selection of his post-war recordings for that company. The Beethoven Piano Concerto was a rather unusual choice for Kapell, but the recording was made after a public concert in Carnegie Hall with the NBC Symphony Orchestra directed by Vladimir Golschmann. It is a performance "for all seasons", as Jonathan Summers writes in his notes, with perfect balance and a good deal of charm, but without, as it seems to me, the extra portion of brilliance to be heard on the 1935 HMV recording by Artur Schnabel and Malcolm Sergeant. - The Schubert dances only take about 7 minutes all told, but are beautifully phrased and capture perfectly the rustic atmosphere of these waltzes, "ländler" and German dances. - The Rachmaninov is, of course, a different kettle of fish, music of a totally different style, highly strung but, to my mind, not nearly as accessible as the music of a century earlier. (I bought this CD for the Beethoven and Schubert.) At all events, there is some remarkable playing to be heard both from Kurtz, whose cello is obviously in the foreground, and from Kapell who masters the immense difficulties of Rachmaninov with apparent ease.
The mono sound of all three pieces is excellent, with only a modicum of hiss on the Beethoven and some noise during part of the Rachmaninov, but nothing to really worry about. This is another excellent Naxos Historical production that can give hours of listening pleasure to those who are so inclined.
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