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5.0 out of 5 stars
Indispensable, April 29 2000
Leon Fleisher: Willy was beyond a doubt the greatest pianistic talent this country [United States] has ever produced.No small compliment coming from another great pianist. It is a tribute to William Kapell that, although he died at the age of 31, he was already a mature artist. One does not have a sense of unfulfilled potential, ala James Dean, for there is fulfillment in plenty on each of the nine discs in this boxed set. I know of no other pianist who gave so many definitive performances in such a short time. The Chopin Sonata in b minor, Op. 58 is easily the best this listener has ever heard, either on record or in concert--Kapell outclasses even Rubinstein. The same can be said for the Mazurkas, which carefully balance the dance elements of these small jewels with their tone poem qualities. Both the Rachmaninoff Second Concerto and the Paganini Rhapsody eclipse all other recordings, even those of the composer--who certainly knew how to play the piano. Two other Russian concertos, by Aram Khachaturian and Sergei Prokofiev, were early staples of Kapell's repertoire--and the performances are again a perfect balance of poetry and bluster, which is exactly what this music requires. A recording of Kapell in recital from March of 1953 (including another definitive performance: the Copland Sonata) reveals that Kapell's extraordinary technique and musicianship are not the result of recording engineers and tape splicing--this is the real thing. Perhaps most welcome of all is a twenty minute interview with Kapell, which reveals a profundity and maturity, both as man and musician, far beyond his years. The sound has been superbly restored and the documentation is excellent. This boxed set is a template for how all classical music reissues should be handled. This set is indispensable for all lovers of piano music.
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