William Kapell Recital

[PetrichorAllegory]

By far the most underrated pianist of all time. A genius equal to any of our greats.

[lajt01]

Happy Birthday William Kapell!!! September 20th: Today it is also my birthday!!!

[rpcjt]

What a rare treasure this Kapell video is, and through it, for us to be able to savor his unique greatness. Thanks so much for posting, ReginaldAbrahms, and warmest greetings from the PHILIPPINES :)

[paulostroff99]

Glorious.TY for posting.

[guarrho]

"Now..."



[paulostroff99]

What a marvel he was. A truly tragic loss. TY Reg for posting.

[gerardbedecarter]

Wonderful playing. My favourite Scarlatti Sonata and Chopin Nocturne.

[klavierspieler72]

What a pianist, what a treasure. Also, what a fuckup of the announcer--he totally interrupted Kapell's coda in the Chopin with his early commentary!

[librarybob1958]

@klavierspieler72 Especially so, given that said fuckup was none other than Alaister Cooke!

[Nai61a]

@librarybob1958 Yes, but be fair, Cooke was an incredibly cultured and learned man, but no musician and he was fooled by Chopin's and Kapell's "false ending".

[klavierspieler72]

What a pianist, what a treasure.

[animumaurarium]

A very unfortunate loss.

[siebhirn]

best version of chopin i´ve heard...

[fweedtasticis]

RIP.

[BrianInCminor]

Such mastery, what a tragedy it is to have lost a master of the piano like this.

[satsatur]

GENIUS!!!!

[djg3619]

In the Scarlatti he is adding some notes to the left hand octaves that i don't hear in other recordings of this piece. But it is not unusual to hear some improvising in Scarlatti, usually in the second sections of the AABB sonatas.

[ChrisWatch]

Same year he had the fatal tragedy of the plane at the age of 31. One can comprehend death, but to comprehend how valuable life is, is like trying to comprehend the beauty of the galaxies, and how far the universe reaches. LIfe was and will always be precious.

[ChrisWatch]

Kapells awareness and expressions during this video program is very fun. Almost like looking into the day pianists earned their right on video recording.

From what info I quickly found this video was; "kinescope of a TV appearance he made on Omnibus in 1953."

[Ellinidara]

He lives !!!!

[mikejr41387]

what do ya'll think about those left hand embellishments in the Scarlatti? was that an added a 7th, to the broken octaves every time in the recapitulation? adds a nice renaissancey flair, but sounds a little bit goofy to me. everything else was great, but for some reason that threw me off

[uhartchristian]

I just discover Kapell and this scarlatti sounds like the sound of Emil Guilels who was famous for his special sound.... the rythmic strenghts here is incredibly.... what a great pianist.

[marcxopoco]

The stupid announcer is so incompetent that he starts talking before the Chopin Nocturne is over, thinking that because it came to rest for a moment that it must be the end. The idiot announcer displays a total ignorance of the subject he is given the role of announcer for. I wish Kapell would have punched him.

[johanna006]

Um, a dumb question... Is this available on CD anywhere? Especially the first song - what's the name and number?

[rupepill]

It is not at all a dumb question. The first item is by Domenico Scarlatti:Sonata E, L23 / K380 - it is available (not necessarily this particular record, but maybe a studio one) on either a 9 CD set of William Kapell's recordings, or on a single CD. You might try Amazon, typing in William Kapell and then the name of the piece. It is even available as an mp3 download there. Good luck with your search.

[johanna006]

Found it. Thank you so much!!!

[Pischnaholic]

Remarkable to be in touch once again with Alistair Cooke's OMNIBUS -- one of the most promising things to come out of early television. Mr. Cooke was, perhpas, TV's most distinguished narrator -- anything but stupid.

Lovely to hear this gentle repertory in such a setting. Today it would have to be The Sixth Hungarian Rhapsody, Islamey, The Prokofieff Toccata or Bust.

Kapell had BBT. His early demise really was a tragedy. The same with Lipatti and the great lyric tenor Fritz Wunderlich.

[soami2u]

Why is it that some of the greatest talents die young? One could also mention Kathleen Ferrier, Dennis Brain, Michael Rabin. Kapell's Chopin is just beautiful--how he makes it sing! You're so right, Pischnaholic, I doubt if a TV program like "Omnibus" would ever survive in today's mass media. I can't help but think the '50s were more civilized than our era!

[Pischnaholic]

Ginette Neveu (sp?) was another. A fine French violinist with a brilliant career ahead of her.

What astonishes me even more, however, is the vast array of SPLENDID talent -- much of it right here on YT -- that never seems to draw anywhere near its fair share of attention.

People go for "names" the way Pavlov's dogs went for bells.

You are, of course, right about the past. We've lost a lot of ground since the 50's. but then look at all the terrific young artists performing today. Take heart.

[billyguns2]

and let us not forget the incomparable violinist Ginette Neveu, who along with Kapell was lost to the airplane.

[raanan17]

Fingers definitely reminiscent of Lipatti's.

[leomulder]

Stupid narrator! Was interrupting Chopin's Nocturne.

[cchris874]

I am also struck by those fingers. They remind me of the quote once made of Lipatti's fingers, to the effect each one had a life and mind of its own.

[cchris874]

I also thank you for this rare video. Kapell, in my view too, was a remarkable artist, having all the nuance and compexity one associates with top ranked pianists. Here, he seems a bit tense, though. The Scarlatti is notable for the guitar like strumming effect, but lacks dynamic contrasts. The nocturne, too, seems a touch plain. All in all fine playing, but if blindfolded, would I have guessed this was Kapell? That said, no Kapell fan would want to miss this, and I very much appreciate it.

[paulostroff99]

Astounding playing! Lest we forget!  Bravo

[ZicoMon]

This is why I love Youtube. Thank you for posting this rare footage.

[ReturnOfTheStienway]

This is some of the MOST AMAZING FOOTAGE!!!

[porcospino289]

My dad, who was good enough to attend the Curtis Institute for a year (under Curzon), said once that Kapell struck him as the most promising talent around, in the years before the plane crash. ...

[Grigor99]

At 4:42 he forgets to change the bass note to a B natural(C-flat) but covers it incredibly by adding it in as a passing 8th note! Genius!!

[sinfonieta]

Kapell el principe del teclado,uno de los más grandes pianistas del mundo.

[sibelio]

He moves his wrist exactly as pianist during their fist 2-3 years of playsing :)

funny :)

My private pianist no1 :)

[jannokas85]

What a beautiful recording!

[MORIZROSENTHAL]

BRAVO!!

[saturncrescent]

I waited for years to see this, thanks so much for posting it!

[vstasov]

Thank you so much for this rare footage.

[matrix1590]

which scarlatti sonata is this???

I recognize it, but it's killing me that I can't remember which one it is

[pfisher]

It's the sonata in E major, K380

[xkoda]

Dear matrix1590,Ｔｈｉｓ　ｓｏｎａｔａ　ｉｓ　Ｅ　ｍａｊｉｏｒ　Ｌ．２３（or Ｋ．３８０). I have playd it sonata by classical guitar soro in my consert 20 years ago.

[musissionary93]

ha! I could only laugh when the announcer broke in before Mr. Kapell finished.

Otherwise; wow! Kapell is Kapell. End of story. Thank you for posting this video.

[suremate]

amazing pianist, and what perfect technique he had!

[suezenne]

AFTER 55 years, I still am in love with you, Suezenne Forham [Chamber Jazz La

[Bluesrains]

Wonderful Thank You!!

[serox901]

at 8 00 he the announcer thinks its over...

[yamahabro]

That's funny -- it was a phrase that didn't even end on the tonic....

[gymnasticsgrl12]

I doubt I've ever seen anyone pay so close attention to technique. I love his interpretations of music. Last night I listened to him play the Barcarolle. Love it!!

[AulicExclusiva]

That's Alistair Cooke!

[aaviguet]

Thank you for posting this video.

[trent1280]

How wonderful to SEE the great Kapell, after only able to imagine him across so many years. Thanks very much for this post. Invaluable!