William Kapell discography


William Kapell was an American classical pianist who recorded for RCA Victor.

Recordings

Many of Kapell's recordings were originally issued as 78RPM 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 issueAlbum title and detailsRecording dateRecord label
2008Kapell ReDiscovered – The Australian Broadcasts
1953RCA
1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 1
  • Chopin: Twenty-nine Mazurkas
  • 1951–1952RCA
    1998William 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. 545
  • 1945–1953RCA
    1998William 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 major
  • 1944–1951RCA
    1998William 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 major
  • 1945–1949RCA
    1998William 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. 2
  • 1945–1953RCA
    1998William 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 ostinato
  • 1945–1953RCA
    1998William 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, cello
  • 1947–1950RCA
    1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 8Frick 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. 380
    1953RCA
    1998William Kapell Edition, Volume 9An Artist at Work
    • Fragments
    • Alternate Takes
    • Interview
    RCA
    2000William 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, conductor
  • 1949–1953Music & Arts
    1997Kapell 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
    1937–1951Arbiter
    1996
    Pearl
    2002Unissued 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, conductor
  • 1944–1951Music & Arts
    1994Broadcast 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, conductor
  • 1945–1948VAI Audio
    1995Broadcast 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 828
  • 1942–1953VAI Audio