William Kapell (September 20, 1922 – October 29, 1953) was an American classical pianist who recorded for RCA Victor.

Recordings

Many of Kapell's recordings were originally issued as 78 rpm records. Some were issued on LP, but by 1960, all of Kapell's commercial recordings were out of print. RCA reissued Beethoven's Concerto No. 2 and Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3 on LP in the early 1970s, and bootlegged copies of the commercial recordings and unlicensed recordings of live performances circulated among collectors.

In the 1980s, RCA Victor released two compact discs of Kapell's recordings, including the Prokofiev Third and Khachaturian Piano Concerto, and an all-Chopin disc.

A nine CD survey, The William Kapell Edition, released by RCA Victor in 1998 contains all of the pianist's authorized recordings with that label, several previously unreleased tracks, and an interview. The set sold well internationally and sparked a revival of interest in Kapell's artistry.

In 1999 Philips Classics included Kapell's studio performances of Prokofiev and Rachmaninov with Antal Doráti in Dallas, and William Steinberg and Fritz Reiner in Philadelphia along with the solo studio performances of works by Albéniz, Bach, Chopin and Liszt as part of their 200-CD Great Pianists of the 20th Century set.

In addition, recordings taken from radio broadcasts of live performances have been issued on several labels, including Kapell ReDiscovered, which documents his final appearances.

Discography The listing below contains only compact disc releases and does not contain 78rpm, LP, cassette, or 8-track cartridge releases. Year of issue Album title and details Recording date(s) Record label2008Kapell ReDiscovered – The Australian Broadcasts (2 CDs) Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Victorian Symphony Orchestra/Sir Bernard Heinze, conductor Traditional: God Save the King J. S. Bach: Suite in A minor, BWV 818 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Mozart: Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 570 Chopin: Barcarolle, Op. 60 / Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 55, No. 2 / Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20 Prokofiev: Piano Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 83 Debussy: Suite bergamasque1953RCA1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 1 Chopin: Twenty-nine Mazurkas1951–1952RCA1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 2 Chopin: Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35 / Sonata in B minor, Op. 58 / Waltz in E-flat major, Op. 18 / Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9, No. 1 Mendelssohn: Song without Words in B minor, Op. 67, No. 5 Schumann: Romance in F-sharp major, Op. 28, No. 2 W. A. Mozart: Piano Sonata in C major, K. 5451945–1953RCA1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 3 Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43+ Robin Hood Dell Orchestra of Philadelphia/William Steinberg, conductor/Fritz Reiner, conductor+ Rachmaninoff: Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2 Shostakovich: Preludes, Op. 34: No. 24 in D minor, No. 10 in C-sharp minor, No. 5 in D major1944–1951RCA1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 4 Khachaturian: Piano Concerto in D-flat major Boston Symphony Orchestra/Serge Koussevitzky, conductor Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Antal Doráti, conductor Shostakovich: Three Preludes, Op. 34: No. 15 in S-flat major, No. 10 in C-sharp minor, No. 5 in D major1945–1949RCA1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 5 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19 NBC Symphony Orchestra/Vladimir Golschmann, conductor Schubert: Moment Musical No. 3 in F minor, D. 780, No. 3 / Four Waltzes from D. 145 / Two German Dances from D. 783 / Waltz, D. 365, No. 34 / Two Ländler, D. 734 Schumann: Romance in F-sharp major, Op. 28, No. 2 Brahms: Intermezzo in E major, Op. 116, No. 6 Liszt: Sonetto 104 del Petrarcha, S. 161, No. 5 / Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A minor, S. 244 / Mephisto Waltz, S. 110, No. 21945–1953RCA1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 6 J. S. Bach: Suite in A minor, BWV 818 / Partita in D major, BWV 828 D. Scarlatti: Sonata in E major, K.380 W. A. Mozart: Adagio from Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 570 Albeniz: Evocación from Iberia, Book 1 Chasins: Piano Playtime: No. 1, By the Brook; No. 5: Dancing Bagpipes; No. 6, Tricky Trumpet Debussy: Children's Corner Suite Palmer: Toccata ostinato1945–1953RCA1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 7 Brahms: Sonata for Violin and Piano in D minor, Op. 108 Jascha Heifetz, violin Brahms: Sonata for Viola and Piano in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1 William Primrose, viola Rachmaninoff: Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 19 Edmund Kurtz, cello1947–1950RCA1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 8 Frick Collection Recital – March 1, 1953 Copland: Piano Sonata Chopin: Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 55, NO. 2 / Mazurka in C major, Op. 33, No. 3 / Polonaise-Fantasie, Op. 61 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Schumann: Of Foreign Lands and People from Kinderszenen, Op. 15 D. Scarlatti: Sonata in E major, K. 3801953RCA1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 9 An Artist at Work Fragments Alternate Takes InterviewRCA2000William Kapell in Performance Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15 New York Philharmonic/Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 New York Philharmonic/Leopold Stokowski, conductor1949–1953Music & Arts1997Kapell in Recital Beethoven: Largo and Rondo from Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 National Orchestral Association/Leon Barzin, conductor Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35 Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy, conductor Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition J. S. Bach: Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (arr. Busoni)1937–1951Arbiter1996Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19 NBC Symphony Orchestra//Vladimir Golschmann, conductor Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 New York Philharmonic/Artur Rodziński, conductor Schubert: Lieder Maria Stader, soprano Chopin: Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53Pearl2002Unissued Broadcasts Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein, conductor Khachaturian: Piano Concerto in D-flat major Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy, conductor1944–1951Music & Arts1994Broadcast Performances, Volume 1 Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Sir Ernest MacMillan, conductor Khachaturian: Piano Concerto in D-flat major NBC Symphony Orchestra/Frank Black, conductor1945–1948VAI Audio1995Broadcast Performances, Volume 2 Debussy: Children's Corner Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody in D-flat major, S. 244, No. 6 / Hungarian Rhapsody in A minor, S. 244, No. 11 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition W. A. Mozart: Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 570 J. S. Bach: Allemande and Courante from Partita in D major, BWV 8281942–1953VAI Audio

References Primary article source