Kapell Rediscovered
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Free Music Notes for Kapell Rediscovered
Free Music Review: NOT FOR MUSICAL NEOPHYTES, JUST MUSIC LOVERS
Hit: 5 Stars
I have found that there are two types of people who listen to classical music. There are those who listen to a particular work in the early phase of building their knowledge or library. These people are often swept up in the glories of the music, and fail to distinguish between the individual performance or interpretation of the piece with the piece itself. (Many of these folks post reviews on amazon with headings that say something like "Best Performance of Beethoven's 5th symphony EVER!!!") I admire their excitement and zeal, and given the atrophy facing the market for classical music I welcome their prostelytizing for an ever shrinking classical audience.
The second group of people do a deeper kind of listening. They (we) do a deeper listening into the music - gleaning new perspectives and insights from particular performances. Folks whose knowledge of music goes beyond mine; pointing out differences between the performance and the composer's score. The kind of folks who own several sets of Beethoven piano sonatas, but continue to return to Schnabel, despite the age of the recordings, to hear the hidden glories that lie within.
It is this second group of people who will enjoy these recordings. And there are enjoyable. Immensely enjoyable in fact. I really didn't know what to expect, reading as I did that these recordings originated from acetates recorded off a radio. I don't know what type of radios they have in Australia. I know that they have some large, ungainly mammals down under, but they must have some pretty large radios because these recordings have a pretty full frequency spectrum. Good texture in brass and strings, and more importantly, the beauty of tone characteristic of Kapell.
That's the good news. The bad news, as noted in other reviews, is that there is a tremendous amount of surface noise. Constant, continual scratching and hissing from the acetates. Now, I'm one of those folks who prefers this conservative approach to noise reduction, rather than diminish the full sonic spectrum I noted earlier. Back to Schnabel, it's the difference between the Pearl remasters of the sonatas, and the much less expensive EMI set. I conur with the decision that the producers have made, but be forewarned: this should NOT be your initial exposure to this music.
On the other hand, if it IS your initial exposure Kapell sets the bar quite high for subsequent performances. There were moments in the Rachmaninov when my mouth fell open - especially in the final movement. It is the ease with which he plays this piece; you can tell that he is taking delight in what he is accomplishing. In the liner notes, Kapell writes of the difference between a craftsman and an artist. Make no mistake - this is playing from an artist of the very highest caliber.
If you can listen "through" the imperfect sound, you really shouldn't hesitate. Especially for what this set is selling for an amazon. Be forewarned though: when I initially put this disc on, my wife, a trained mezzo, looked at me incredulously and asked "WHAT are we listening to?". But if you turn the lights off, sit still, and close your eyes you will be transported back through time, and will be able to re-live some of the precious moments that Kapell was truly among the Gods.
This is a gem of a recording. Even with the quality of the playing, it may not be one you return to often due to the surface noise. But it is definitely a recording that needs to be heard and experienced by discerning students of pianism.
Free Music Review: The most gifted North American pianist ever born.
Hit: 5 Stars
For better or worst, this artistic release was at last the final materialization of a long expected dream from many hard fans around the world.
The very fact the incalculable value of these historical recordings literally shade all the acoustic distortions present. Obviously I am extremely optimistic due the fact the high management of the label makes a major and more treatment of the quality of the sound.
Kapell was one of the most prominent and active forerunners about Rachmaninoff in the Westerns hemisphere, even though Vladimir Horowitz, Emil Gilels or Sviatoslav Richter, who were enrooted by reasons of birthplace.
The enormous difference between Kapell's approach and the rest of all the rest of pianists after him was that sense of urgency, nostalgic introspection, incorporeal lyricism and epic wilderness William conferred to every one of the set of these piano concerts. He never incurred in excess of theatrical poses or even cheap exhibitionism of virtuosity (which by itself was notorious, since the first bar).
"The pictures at an exhibition" is for the immense majority of pianists, a piece that allows to exhibit the technical musculature of the player. The same may be said about the orchestral version. But there are so few soloists and conductors who are well aware, that first and foremost "The pictures" is an enormous elegy to a missed friend, permeated here and there with certain humoristic hints. But the central structure is basically the last farewell to Victor. Kapell made a zealous fingering around every variation, expressing (through the smart use of the rubato) with meridian honesty the austere solemnity that surrounds this Op.
Mozart's Sonata is played with elegance and pristine musicality. The Bergamasque Suite is played with incorporeal fluidity and stratospheric vision which makes a showy and enjoyable experience.
Chopin's Barcarolle is finely performed (although it doesn't match with the unsurpassable version of Michelangeli in Turin Festival, 1962 or Ivan Moravec, 1965, for instance). The epic nature of Chopin's Scherzos were probably the best fitted pieces for this impetuous artist. Despite of the fact I have listened other versions in the market, nobody can match with him in those pieces (perhaps I should cite two optional exceptions Nelson Freire and Arthur Rubinstein).
Prokoviev's Seventh Sonata is played with the demanded bitter astringency. The pretended elegance of the introduction in the First movement conveys the listener to a macabre military march, spiced of the well known cynical accent of the Russian composer. I would say that with the honored exception of Gyorgy Sandor (Vox label, 1966 and still available set), nobody does it better.
William Kapell was mot only the most gifted North American pianist ever born.He was among the reduced list of keyboard giants whose ability top express the unsaid and unspoken significance far beyond the score contained. A true poet of the piano. I mean he is in the same level of Lipatti, Michelangeli, Fisher, Kempff, Moravec, Katchen, Badura Skoda or Sandor.
Absolutely recommended.
Free Music Review: Kapell's Discovered Treasures
Hit: 5 Stars
"Willy was beyond a doubt the greatest pianistic talent this country [USA] has ever produced." Leon Fleischer
America has seen its share of pianistic careers cut short for varying reasons: whether due to burnout (Van Cliburn), hand injuries (Leon Fleischer, Gary Graffman), or other ailments (Byron Janis). Even Murray Perahia, arguably the best American pianist active today, has battled stress related hand problems over the last 15 years. No piano career ended more tragically than William Kapell's, who died in a plane crash in 1953.
Kapell was returning home from a tour of Australia when his plane crashed into a mountain just south of Half Moon Bay, California. Twenty years ago, an off the air recording of Chopin's B-flat Minor Sonata from that last tour emerged, and rumors have floated for years about other Australian Kapell recordings. This two CD set contains those performances, the last recorded examples of Kapell's work.
Much has been written about the "new" Kapell that emerged in the last two years of his life, one less focused on keyboard pyrotechnics and gravitating toward the traditional German masters and a more contemplative style. Kapell's performance of the Bach Suite points toward the future in that his approach has similarities to Glenn Gould's, minus the Canadian pianist's insufferable vocalizing. The Mozart Sonata is played with clarity, tasteful phrasing, and a discrete rhythmic snap. It is poles apart from the Rococo, porcelain doll approach which was already falling out of favor.
It's neither inaccurate nor demeaning of Kapell to note that the pianist was somewhat under the spell of Vladimir Horowitz. Nearly every American pianist of the time was. (Kapell wanted to study with Horowitz, but the elder pianist demured, stating there was nothing he could teach Kapell.) Both the Prokofiev Seventh Sonata and Chopin Scherzo have Horowitzian touches, including interlocking octaves at the end of the Scherzo.
Whatever his similarities with Horowitz, Kapell was his own man in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The pianist plays the score, which was seldom performed as a piano piece at the time, pretty much as written. His performance is easily on par with Richter's famed Sofia account.
It is not Horowitz I think of when hearing Kapell's performance of the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto, but the composer. Kapell has that same aristocratic, yet restless approach. Unfortunately, Kapell employs the cuts in the score used by the composer. It's intriguing to think what a 40 year old Kapell, (circa 1962) would have done with this music.
Recorded off the air by an amateur using a home disc cutting machine, the sound is problematic. There is a great deal of static, clicks, and pops, as well as what sounds like cross talk with another radio station (audible during quieter pieces). Signal to noise ratio is poor, and a few moments have had to be patched from other Kapell recordings. Kapell fans will not be fazed by this, but those who insist on perfect sonics may find their enjoyment of these remarkable performances impaired.
Free Music Review: A precious document of a phenomenal artist
Hit: 5 Stars
Recorded from radio broadcasts at Melbourne Town Hall, Australia in 1953.
Disc 1
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No.3, with Victorian SO (Bernard Heinze) / 1 October (A brief section missing in the 3rd movement, from when the original disc had to be turned over while recording, has been patched with the Toronto Symphony recording of five years earlier)
Bach - Suite in Am BWV818 / 21 July (The missing 1st movement is substituted by the commercial recording of 1947)
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition / 21 July (The closing section of the Great Gate of Kiev was not broadcast, so the same section from Frick recital is tacked on)
Disc 2
God Save the Queen* / 25 July
Mozart - Sonata No.16 / 25 July
Debussy - Suite bergamasque* / 28 July
Prelude
Menuet
Clair de Lune
Passepied
Chopin / 28 July
Barcarolle*
Nocturne Op.55 No.2
Scherzo No.1*
Prokofiev - Sonata No.7* / 25 July
*New to Kapell discography
Bad news first; surface noise is very heavy in all these recordings, particularly in Rachmaninov's 3rd concerto, the noise level becomes unbearable at times. The engineer says, as a reason, that the source discs are 50 years old, but comprehensive noise reduction was avoided in order to preserve the sound of various instruments. I personally think a little bit more noise reduction should have been applied. The complete change of sonics at the closing of 'Pictures' is really off-putting - the two different sources just do not merge nicely. The magical moments in Clair de lune and Chopin Scherzo are marred by talking voices (possibly coming from other broadcast rooms?)
Good news; The patch-work in the 3rd movement of Rachmaninov concerto is superbly done and hardly noticeable. And the performance itself borders on the super-human and the other worldly. Kapell possesses Horowitz' brilliance and Richter's ability to lose oneself completely in music. That is also evident in the performance of Bach's Am Suite, Mussorgsky's 'Pictures' and Debussy's works. Chopin's Scherzo No.1 is played with astonishing emotional intensity which matches Richter's accounts. Kapell plays Prokofiev's Sonata No.7 in surprisingly relaxed tempi. Although it lacks the demonic edge of Richter (I disagree with the producer who describes Kapell's rendition 'demonic'), Kapell masterfully captures the subtle change of moods and he emphasizes the contrast between fast and slow sections, which makes this performance not only electrifying, but rich.
It is another tragedy that such an outstanding pianist was so poorly recorded, but on the other hand, one should be grateful that these recordings survived at all, because these are a very precious document of the last stage of the already accomplished pianist and artist (Kapell himself would definitely desagree). Only God knows what he would have become, if his life weren't cut short by the tragic air crash.
Free Music Review: The Greatest American Pianist Who Ever Lived
Hit: 5 Stars
Willy Kapell was simply the greatest American pianist who ever lived. That's not only my opinion but the opinion of all the other great American Pianists who survived him as well like Van Cliburn, Gary Graffman and Leon Fleisher to name a few. Unfortunately he died young in a plane crash before the stereo era. These performances are in less than wonderful sound as they are taken from private acetate recordings done by a musical amateur at the time. No matter....these are among the finest performances of each of these pieces ever recorded in my opinion. I was incredibly gratified and surprised that there was another performance of the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto in this volume. And what a performance it is! Astonishing to say the least. Passionate, technically formidable and exciting as all get out! While they did have to splice in some of an earlier previously available different live performance in part of the third movement in order to make a complete performance, I have no problem with the job they did. (See below).
However, the other selections are just as gratifying in their performances. The Bach is as good as the Prokofiev 7th Sonata, each in their own way, stylistically right on. (Listen to the 3rd movement of the Prokofiev for one of the best live performances of this work ever!). In short, Kapell was like the American Ashkenazy in that he played everything well. In the last years of his life he had been taking more time with the German classics and was developing into a mature artist capable of playing more than just the bravura romantic and modern knuckle-buster concerti.
If you are new to Kapell I suggest that you don't start with this recording as the sound quality is not the best; rather start with his complete studio recordings on RCA to get an idea of his art. The recordings are generally in better sound and you can get an idea of the titanic and all-around genius of this artist. In short, it's my opinion that he made among the best ever recordings ever made of much of what he recorded in my opinion. After you hear that recording set, you'll want to get this one and won't mind the amateur recording sound of this set. However, I feel the engineers did a marvelous job of mastering these recordings considering what they had to work with as raw material. In cleaning up the sound, one loses ever so much in proportion to the cleaning of the original sound. I, for one, don't mind some hiss, clicks and pops to hear as much of the original sound as possible. In employing digital tricks to remove such, some of the original timbre of the recording is lost which is why I'm glad they did not "sanitize it".
In short, if you have never heard of William Kapell, even if you do obtain this as your first recording of him you won't be disappointed in the performances; and if you are already a fan of Kapell, get this recording NOW!