WILLIAM KAPELL CHRONOLOGICAL DISCOGRAPHY: CONCERTS & BROADCASTS

A Kapell Discography has been published by Tim Page in his book ‘William Kapell A Documentary Life History of the American Pianist’ University of Maryland (1992). Since then, RCA has issued two major Boxsets with all his commercial recordings including alternate and incomplete takes, as well as live performances (1953 Frick Collection Recital; recordings from the 1953 Australian Tour).

Other companies (Music & Arts, Pearl, VAI Audio, Marston, Arbiter, JSP Records) have also issued CDs with unpublished performances, such as the Schumann Quintet with the Fine Arts Quartet, two performances of Prokofiev’s Concerto n°3 Op.26 or newly found WQXR Studio Broadcasts.

We owe the most recent discoveries to St-Laurent Studio (78experience) who has found the recording of the Mozart’s Concerto n° 17 K453 with Kapell and Casals thought to have been lost, as well as a NBC recording of the first movement of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto n°2, together with two piano pieces by Schumann (Träumerei Op.15 n°7) and Napolitano (El Gato), and an unpublished recording of the Khatchatourian Concerto with Koussevitzky (30 october 1943).

You will find below an updated list where the recordings of concerts and studio broadcasts are presented in chronological order.

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Une discographie de Kapell a été publiée par Tim page dans son livre ‘William Kapell A Documentary Life History of the American Pianist’ University of Maryland (1992). Depuis, RCA a publié deux coffrets importants contenant tous ses enregistrements commerciaux, y compris des prises alternatives et incomplètes, ainsi que des enregistrements publics (Récital de 1953 à la Frick Collection; enregistrements lors de la Tournée de 1953 en Australie) .

D’autres labels (Music & Arts, Pearl, VAI Audio, Marston, Arbiter, JSP Records) ont également publié des CDs avec des inédits, tels que le Quintette de Schumann avec le Fine Arts Quartet, deux enregistrements de concert du Concerto n°3 Op.26 de Prokofiev, ou bien des programmes de studio de la Radio WQXR récemment découverts.

Nous devons les découvertes les plus récentes à St-Laurent Studio (78experience) qui a trouvé l’enregistrement du Concerto n°17 K453 de Mozart avec Kapell et Casals que l’on croyait perdu, ainsi qu’un enregistrement de la NBC du premier mouvement du Concerto n°2 de Rachmaninov avec deux pièces pour piano seul de Schumann (Träumerei Op.15 n°7) et Napolitano (El Gato), et un inédit du concerto de Khatchatourian avec Koussevitzky (30 octobre 1943).

Vous trouverez ci-dessous une liste mise à jour où les enregistrements radiophoniques de studio et de concert sont présentés par ordre chronologique.

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26 April 1937 National Orchestra Association Leon BARZIN

BEETHOVEN Concerto n°3 Op. 37 (Largo-Rondo) Arbiter 108

1940

CHOPIN Polonaise Op.53, Prelude Op.28 N°5 Pearl GEMM CD 9194

27 October 1942

LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody n°6  VAI IPA 1048

30 octobre 1943 Boston SO Serge KOUSSEVITZKY
KHATCHATOURIAN Piano Concerto
St Laurent Studio KOUSSEVITZKY Vol. 2 YSL 0139 78

08 April 1944 Philadelphia Orch. Eugene ORMANDY

KHATCHATOURIAN Piano Concerto Music & Arts CD-1109

18 June 1944 Carnegie Hall NYPO Fritz REINER (Summer Broadcast)

RACHMANINOV Concerto n°2 Op.18

28 October 1944 Philadelphia Orch. Eugene ORMANDY

RACHMANINOV Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini Marston 3CDs 53021-2

28 February 1945 Carnegie Hall

CHOPIN Nocturne Op.9 N°1  Marston 3CDs 53021-2 – William Kapell Edition BMG 9CDs 09026-68442-2 –  BMG CD 09026-68991-2 –  Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362

SCHUMANN Romance Op.28 n°2 – DEBUSSY Estampe n°2 « La Soirée dans Grenade » – CHOSTAKOVITCH Preludes Op.34 n°24, 10, 5 – NAPOLITANO El Gato – PALMER Toccata Ostinato Marston 3CDs 53021-2

At this concert, Kapell performed Bach’s Partita n°2 BWV826 and Brahms’ Sonata n°3 Op.5. Tim Page lists the Bach Partita n°2 BWV 826 and the second movement of the Brahms’s Sonata (12 bars missing).

20 May 1945 New York Studio 8-H NBC SO Frank BLACK

KHATCHATOURIAN Piano Concerto VAI Audio 1027

28 October 1945 Carnegie Hall NYPO Artur RODZINSKI

RACHMANINOV Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini Pearl GEMM CD 9194 – JSP Records JSP684 – St Laurent Studio KAPELL Vol.3 YSL 0116 78

01 December 1945 Philadelphia Orch. Eugene ORMANDY

SHOSTAKOVITCH Concerto n°1 Op.35 Samuel KRAUSS, Trumpet Arbiter 108

23 June 1946 New York Studio 8-H NBC SO Vladimir GOLSCHMANN

BEETHOVEN Concerto n°2 Op.19 Pearl GEMM CD 9194

24 November 1946 Carnegie Hall NYPO Artur RODZINSKI

KHATCHATOURIAN Concerto

On November 21,22 & 24, the program was comprised of Khatchatourian’s Concerto and Tchaïkovsky’s Symphony n° 5 Op.64. For the November 24 broadcast, Kapell agreed to make cuts in the cadenzas of the Concerto, because the program length exceeded the alloted duration of the broadcast. Tim Page mentions a performance (Nov.22) of Tchaïkovsky’s Concerto n¨1, but it is a mistake.

1947 AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) Recording

MOZART Sonata n°17 K.570  VAI IPA 1048

1947 New York From Radio Program ‘The Music Hall of Fame’

MOZART Sonata K.330 Allegretto – MENDELSSOHN Lieder ohne Wörte Op.67 n°2 – William Kapell recounts two humorous incidents in playing recitals  Marston 3CDs 53021-2

22 February 1947 Philadelphia Orch. Eugene ORMANDY

PROKOFIEV Concerto n°3 Op.26 JSP Records JSP684

21 March 1947 Carnegie Hall

BACH Suite BWV 818 – MOZART Sonata n°10 K.330 – CHOPIN Mazurka Op.63 n°2 – BRAHMS Intermezzo Op.76 n°3  Marston 3CDs 53021-2

PALMER Toccata ostinato William Kapell Edition BMG 9CDs 09026-68442-2 – BMG CD 09026-08991-2 – Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362

01 February 1948 Pittsburgh SO Fritz REINER

STRAUSS Burleske Marston 3CDs 53021-2

13 April 1948 Toronto SO Sir Ernest MacMILLAN

RACHMANINOV Concerto n°3 Op.30  VAI Audio 1027

17 February 1949 Carnegie Hall NYPO Leopold STOKOWSKI

RACHMANINOV Concerto n°3 Op.30

Rehearsal Broadcast on WNYC

20 February 1949 Carnegie Hall NYPO Leopold STOKOWSKI

PROKOFIEV Concerto n°3 Op.26 Music & Arts CD-990

13 November 1949 Carnegie Hall NYPO Leopold STOKOWSKI

FALLA Noches en los Jardines de España Music & Arts CD-771

23 April 1950 San Francisco SO Pierre Monteux

MOZART Concerto n°12 K414 (II Andante – III Allegretto) Music & Arts CD-1192 ’Sunday Evenings with Pierre Monteux’ (13 CDs)

20 May 1950 New York Studio 8-H NBC Strings Miltom KATIMS

BACH Concerto 4 Klaviers BWV 1065 (Rosalyn TURECK, Eugene LIST, Joseph BATTISTA) Marston 3CDs 53021-2

18 June 1950 Studio 8-H NBC SO Alfred WALLENSTEIN

RACHMANINOV Concerto n°2 Op.18  I Moderato – SCHUMANN Kinderszenen Op.15 n°7  Träumerei – NAPOLITANO El Gato  St Laurent Studio KAPELL Vol.4  YSL 0311

1951 Buenos Aires

BACH Partita n°4 BWV828 (Allemande,Courante) – DEBUSSY Children’s Corner – LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody n°11  VAI IPA 1048

18 February 1951 Carnegie Hall NYPO Leonard BERNSTEIN

RACHMANINOV Concerto n°2 Op.18  Music & Arts CD-1109

17 October 1951 New London Connecticut College

BACH Nun kommt der Heiden Heiland BWV 659  Arbiter 108 – Marston 3CDs 53021-2

MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition Arbiter 108

DEBUSSY Suite Bergamasque – LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody n°11 – CHOPIN Mazurka Op.6 n°3 – FALLA Miller’s dance (Three Cornered Hat) Marston 3CDs 53021-2

21 November 1951 Chicago Northwestern University Fine Arts Quartet

SCHUMANN Quintet Op.44  Marston 3CDs 53021-2

09 June 1952 New York WQXR Studio

MOZART Sonata n°17 K.570 – GRANADOS La Maja e el Ruisenor (Goyescas n°4) – SCHUBERT Ländler D.783 n°7, 12 – CHASINS Tricky Trumpet n°6 from Piano Playtime – CHOPIN Sonata n°3 Op.38 Largo (beginning)  Marston 3CDs 53021-2

15 June 1952 New York WQXR Studio

DEBUSSY Children’s Corner – LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody n°11 S.244 – Interview (8’30) Marston 3CDs 53021-2

01 March 1953 New York Frick Collection

COPLAND Piano Sonata (1941) – CHOPIN Nocturne Op.55 n°2, Mazurka Op.33 n°3,Polonaise Fantaisie Op.61 –  MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition – SCHUMANN Kinderszenen Op.15 n°1 Vom fremden Länder und Menschen – SCARLATTI Sonata K.380 (L.23) William Kapell Edition BMG 9CDs 09026-68442-2 – BMG CD 09026-68997-2 – Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362

March 1953 René Herville Interview with William Kapell

William Kapell Edition BMG 9CDs 09026-68442-2 –  BMG CD 09026-68998-2 – Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362

15 March 1953 Video Allistair COOKE

SCARLATTI Sonata K.380 (L.23) – CHOPIN Nocturne Op.55 n°2 – NAPOLITANO El Gato

21 March 1953 Boston Symphony Hall BSO Richard BURGIN

PROKOFIEV Concerto n°3 Op.26  JSP Records JSP684

12 April 1953 Carnegie Hall NYPO Dimitri MITROPOULOS

BRAHMS Concerto n°1 Op.15  Music & Arts CD-990  – C&A HD

16 June 1953 Prades Abbaye St-Michel de Cuxa Maria STADER

SCHUBERT 6 Lieder: Im Frühling D.882, La Pastorella D.528, Du bist die Ruhe D.776, Lied der Mignon D.877, Gretchen am Spinnrade D.118, Die Forelle D.550  Pearl GEMM CD 9194 –  St Laurent Studio  Festival de Prades Vol.2  YSL 0921 T

27 June 1953 Prades Abbaye St-Michel de Cuxa Arthur GRUMIAUX     2 works

BEETHOVEN Sonata violin – piano n°1 Op.12 n°1 – MOZART Piano Quartet n°2 K.493 (Milton THOMAS, alto Paul TORTELIER, Vlc)  Casals Festivals at Prades Music & Arts 13 CDs CD-1113 – St Laurent Studio  Festival de Prades Vol.9  YSL 1288 T

30 June 1953 Prades Abbaye St-Michel de Cuxa Orch. du Festival de Prades dir: Pablo CASALS

MOZART Concerto n°17 K453  Festival de Prades Vol.1 St Laurent Studio YSL 0879 T

This recording was long believed to be lost. The Concerts from Prades were broadcast and recorded by the French Radio (RTF). The sound was sent by landlines to ‘Centre Pistor’ in Paris where the tape recorders were located. For the June 30 concert, the landline was defective. For this reason, the recording of this concert was not officially listed. It has however survived complete, and we are happy to have it, warts and all! There are audible defects, mostly extraneous noises, but the performance comes out quite well.

21 July 1953 Melbourne Town Hall

BACH Suite BWV818  Kapell reDiscovered 2 CDs Sony 82876685602 – Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362

MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition VAI IPA 1048 (missing end filled in from Kapell’s October 17, 1951 performance) – Kapell reDiscovered 2 CDs Sony 82876685602 (missing end filled in from Kapell’s March 1, 1953 performance) – Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362 (missing end filled in from Kapell’s March 1, 1953 performance).

In an interview, Kapell complained that one of his Melbourne concerts was cut one minute before the end to pass an advertisement, so this may explain the missing end of the Mussorgsky.

25 July 1953 Melbourne Town Hall

MOZART Sonata K.570 – PROKOFIEV Sonata n°7 Op.83  Kapell reDiscovered 2 CDs Sony – 82876685602 – Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362

28 July 1953 Melbourne Town Hall

DEBUSSY Suite Bergamasque – CHOPIN Barcarolle Op.60 Nocturne Op.55 n°2 Scherzo n°1 Op.20  Kapell reDiscovered 2 CDs Sony 82876685602 – Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362

01 October 1953 Melbourne Town Hall VICTORIAN SO Sir Bernard HEINZE

RACHMANINOV Concerto n°3 Op.30 Kapell reDiscovered  2 CDs Sony 82876685602 – Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362

10 October 1953 Sydney Town Hall SYDNEY SO Joseph POST

PROKOFIEV Concerto n°3 Op.26

A surviving tape was sent to RCA by The Australian Broadcast Commission (ABC), but RCA was not interested and sent the tape back. A copy thereof may exist.

22 October 1953 Geelong Plaza Theatre

CHOPIN Sonata n°2 Op.35  William Kapell Edition BMG 9CDs 09026-68442-2 – BMG CD 09026-68991-2 – Kapell Complete Recordings 1944-1953 11 CDs RCA 88765431362

Other Recordings alleged to exist:

25 March 1945 RACHMANINOV Concerto n°2 Op. 18 National Orchestra Association Leon BARZIN

11 December 1945 BRAHMS Concerto n° 1 Op. 15 Philadelphia Orch. Eugene ORMANDY

16 November 1949 TCHAIKOVSKY Concerto n°1 Op.23 Philadelphia Orch. Eugene ORMANDY

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