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310:, who so admired Kapell's performances of his Piano Sonata that he was writing a new work for him at the time of the pianist's death. Kapell practiced up to eight hours a day, keeping track of his sessions with a notebook and clock. He also set aside time from his busy concert schedule to work with the musicians he most admired, including
335:
Kapell suffered from asthma and rheumatic fever during his life. In 1952, Kapell reportedly suffered from a serious lung condition. He was diagnosed with bronchitis in April and a doctor advised him to stop playing. In August, he wrote in his diary to tend to a "lung condition – immediately". Three
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Early on, there was a tendency to typecast Kapell as a performer of technically difficult repertoire. While his technique was exceptional, he was a versatile musician, and was impatient with what he considered shallow or sloppy music making. His own repertoire was diverse, encompassing works from
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was a sell-out hit. Eventually, he became so associated with the work that he was referred to in some circles as "Khachaturian Kapell." Besides his pianism and technical gifts, Kapell's attractive appearance and mop of black hair helped make him a favorite with the public.
427:(1926–2012), undertook a career as an expert on homelessness in New York in part as a result, she said, of her own experience of suddenly becoming a single mother with no income. For the rest of her life she worked to keep her late husband's recordings before the public.
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and
Vladimir Horowitz (whose East 94th Street townhouse was diagonally across the street from the Kapells' apartment) for lessons, but they demurred. Horowitz later commented that there was nothing he could have taught Kapell.
367:. Days after the concert, he set off on his return flight to the United States, telling reporters at Mascot Airport he would never return to Australia because of the harsh comments from some Australian critics. He was aboard
285:
By the late 1940s, Kapell had toured the United States, Canada, Europe and
Australia to acclaim and praised as the most brilliant and audacious of his generation of young American pianists. On May 18, 1948, he married
442:(which was alleged to have sold Kapell the ticket). In 1964, more than ten years after the crash, Kapell's widow and two children were awarded US$ 924,396 in damages. The award was overturned on appeal in 1965.
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months prior, in May, he allegedly told
Anthony Harris, a pianist from Sacramento who he had dinner with, that he was suffering from cancer and that the doctors had given him two years to live.
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When the 31-year-old pianist
William Kapell, one of the last century's great geniuses of the keyboard, was killed in a plane crash in 1953, he was returning from a concert tour in Australia.
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In 2004, a number of broadcast recordings made during
William Kapell's last Australian tour were returned to his family. RCA Victor issued these recordings in 2008 under the title
454:'s piano competition was renamed the William Kapell International Piano Competition in Kapell's honor. It became quadrennial in 1998 and is currently held at the university's
484:, but by 1960, all of Kapell's commercial recordings were out of print. In 1962, RCA Victor reissued the Kapell/Koussevitzky recording of the Khachaturian Piano Concerto.
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label in 1970. For decades, pirated copies of the Kapell's commercial RCA Victor recordings and unlicensed recordings of "live" performances circulated among collectors.
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Was there any greater
American pianist born during the last century than Kapell? Perhaps not. Certainly he was the most famous American-born player before Van Cliburn.
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199:, remarked: "Was there any greater American pianist born during the last century than Kapell? Perhaps not." In 1953, at age 31, Kapell died in the crash of
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have acknowledged Kapell's influence. Fleisher stated that Kapell was "the greatest pianistic talent that this country has ever produced". Kapell's widow,
1129:"Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland – The William Kapell International Piano Competition and Festival – About the Competition and Festival"
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359:. Kapell played the final concert of his Australian tour in Geelong, Victoria, on October 22, 1953, a recital which included a performance of
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607:. In 2013, RCA issued a new 11 CD set of Kapell's complete recordings, including the broadcast recordings from the final Australian tour.
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bookstore. His father was of
Spanish-Russian Jewish ancestry and his mother of Polish descent. Dorothea Anderson La Follette (the wife of
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From August to
October 1953, Kapell toured Australia, playing 37 concerts in 14 weeks. He appeared in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne,
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set up the
William Kapell Memorial Fund to bring musicians to the United States for wider experience. The Australian violinist
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and became his teacher, giving him lessons several times a week at her studio on West 64th Street. Kapell later studied with
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set released by RCA Victor in 1998 contains Kapell's complete authorized recordings, including renditions of Chopin's
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when on the morning of
October 29, 1953, the plane, descending to land in fog, struck the treetops and crashed on
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for the year's outstanding concert by a musician under 30. He was signed to an exclusive recording contract with
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1106:"Kapell's kin lose $ 924,396 award; Appeals Court Throws Out Damages for 1953 Death of Pianist in DC-6 Crash"
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Kapell won his first competition at the age of ten and received as a prize a turkey dinner with the pianist
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William Kapell was born in New York City on September 20, 1922, and grew up in the eastside neighborhood of
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Piano Sonata. The set sold well throughout the world and brought Kapell's work to a new audience.
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Kapell achieved fame while in his early twenties, in part as a result of his performances of
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173:(September 20, 1922 – October 29, 1953) was an American classical pianist.
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In the 1980s, RCA Victor issued two compact discs of Kapell's recordings, including the
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and the Khatchaturian Piano Concerto. Arbiter 108 features part of the Beethoven
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America's first great pianist has finally been accorded the tribute he deserves.
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sponsored the 19-year-old pianist's New York début, a recital which won him the
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described him as "one of the last century's great geniuses of the keyboard" and
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250:'s youth competition as well as the Naumburg Award. The following year, the
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833:"William Kapell Edition Vol 4 – Khachaturian, Prokofiev—Notes & Reviews"
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on October 30, 1953. On November 2, Kapell's funeral took place at the
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in New York; interment followed at the Mount Ararat Cemetery near
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Encyclopedia of American classical pianists: 1800s to the present
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Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
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The William Kapell International Piano Competition and Festival
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1093:. No. 55923. London. January 31, 1964. col G, p. 12.
1076:. No. 54372. London. January 30, 1959. col C, p. 10.
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In 1944, Kapell signed an exclusive recording contract with
404:, a friend of Stern's, was the inaugural recipient in 1955.
585:. Included are several previously unknown performances of "
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VAI 1027 contains broadcast recordings of the Rachmaninoff
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American classical pianist and recording artist (1922–1953)
1070:"$ 7M Suit Filed Against Three Airlines". News in Brief.
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described him as "America's first great pianist", while
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William Kapell Rediscovered: The Australian Broadcasts
273:. His 1946 world premiere recording of the piece with
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862:, "Solo nec plus ultra", Neva Editions, 2015, p. 51.
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and the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1, and it includes
1183:"Last Recordings of American Pianist William Kapell"
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476:. Many of his recordings were originally issued as
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Kapell International Piano Competition and Festival
1411:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1953
203:while returning from a concert tour in Australia.
632:. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 187.
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511:and Prokofiev Third Piano Concertos, and an all-
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1031:W. L. Hoffmann, "Lest we forget Isaac Stern",
1010:, October 31, 1953, p. 2. Retrieved 2012-08-17
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810:, September 27, 1998 (at williamkapell.com).
1002:"Kapell: Truly American Craftsman Of Music"
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1416:Classical musicians from New York (state)
1286:; "Gato" arranged by Emilio A. Napolitano
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438:(which had taken over BCPA in 1954), and
19:For other people with the same name, see
1307:William Kapell Remembered, Part 2 (8:26)
1299:William Kapell Remembered, Part 2 (8:27)
1291:William Kapell Remembered, Part 1 (8:26)
1156:"The Found Treasures of a Great Pianist"
691:"The Found Treasures of a Great Pianist"
157:
1275:Video of William Kapell recital (10:19)
1087:"$ 924,396 for Pianist's Widow". News.
968:"19 Killed In B.C.P.A. Crash in U.S.A."
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726:Kimmelman, Michael (March 24, 2005).
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1421:20th-century American male musicians
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456:Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
162:Signed drawing of William Kapell by
934:McBeath, John (February 16, 2013).
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802:"William Kapell's Piano Benchmark"
654:"WILLIAM KAPELL'S PIANO BENCHMARK"
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1376:American male classical pianists
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379:, covered Kapell's death in his
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1396:Accidental deaths in California
1356:People from the Upper East Side
1284:Chopin's Nocturne No. 2, Op. 55
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1051:Reflections from the Keyboard
979:. October 31, 1953. p. 1
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480:records. Some were issued on
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252:Walter W. Naumburg Foundation
1361:Musicians from New York City
1252:The New York Review of Books
734:. Vol. 52, no. 5.
732:The New York Review of Books
215:, where his parents owned a
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196:The New York Review of Books
7:
1371:American classical pianists
1233:William Kapell Rediscovered
1211:. HarperCollins Australia.
977:Australian Associated Press
387:Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
331:Health, death and aftermath
231:, former wife of conductor
10:
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1381:20th-century American Jews
603:, Op. 20, and Prokofiev's
468:William Kapell discography
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87:Kings Mountain, California
18:
1386:Jewish classical pianists
1007:The Sydney Morning Herald
972:The Sydney Morning Herald
936:"Last notes of a prodigy"
628:Masters, Richard (2023).
605:Sonata No. 7, Op. 83
575:Pictures at an Exhibition
322:. Kapell also approached
279:Boston Symphony Orchestra
225:Third Street Music School
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1426:Music & Arts artists
1207:Downes, Stephen (2013).
860:88 notes pour piano solo
601:Scherzo No. 1 in B minor
271:Piano Concerto in D-flat
1366:Juilliard School alumni
1257:(subscription required)
1117:(subscription required)
288:Rebecca Anna Lou Melson
1243:William Kapell Edition
452:University of Maryland
365:"Funeral March" Sonata
248:Philadelphia Orchestra
246:. In 1941, he won the
167:
127:Rebecca Ann Lou Melson
44:William Kapell in 1948
500:were reissued on the
430:Kapell's estate sued
391:Farmingdale, New York
161:
1235:at williamkapell.com
856:Jean-Pierre Thiollet
566:Piano Concerto No. 3
562:Piano Concerto No. 3
498:Piano Concerto No. 3
490:Piano Concerto No. 2
223:) met Kapell at the
213:Yorkville, Manhattan
171:Oscar William Kapell
54:Oscar William Kapell
1037:, October 24, 2001.
845:on August 23, 2018.
807:The Washington Post
660:. January 9, 2024.
583:Kapell Rediscovered
407:Pianists including
382:Letter from America
221:Chester La Follette
189:critic and pianist
176:The Washington Post
95:Cause of death
1267:2013-02-07 at the
1161:The New York Times
1111:The New York Times
1034:The Canberra Times
780:2008-07-04 at the
695:The New York Times
587:God Save the Queen
425:Anna Lou Dehavenon
275:Serge Koussevitzky
182:The New York Times
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64:September 20, 1922
1255:, March 24, 2005
1247:Michael Kimmelman
868:978 2 3505 5192 0
639:978-1-5381-7146-2
592:Suite bergamasque
553:sonatas, and the
538:, Prokofiev, and
324:Arthur Rubinstein
296:Vladimir Horowitz
294:, the teacher of
267:Aram Khachaturian
233:Leopold Stokowski
191:Michael Kimmelman
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99:Aviation accident
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1239:"The Undefeated"
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1351:1953 deaths
1346:1922 births
1139:January 15,
1020:Downes 2013
955:Downes 2013
892:Downes 2013
880:Downes 2013
820:Downes 2013
763:Downes 2013
595:, Chopin's
530:as well as
421:Van Cliburn
398:Isaac Stern
244:José Iturbi
1340:Categories
1310:on YouTube
1302:on YouTube
1294:on YouTube
1241:review of
1185:. Sony BMG
1167:October 8,
983:October 8,
894:, 115–117.
838:ArkivMusic
800:Tim Page,
611:References
597:Barcarolle
570:Mussorgsky
474:RCA Victor
466:See also:
462:Recordings
345:Shepparton
304:J. S. Bach
260:RCA Victor
105:Occupation
60:1922-09-20
1189:March 20,
1090:The Times
1073:The Times
906:"Review:
740:0028-7504
703:0362-4331
666:0190-8286
551:Scarlatti
532:concertos
494:Prokofiev
486:Beethoven
396:Musician
235:, at the
207:Biography
116:1937–1953
1265:Archived
919:July 12,
778:Archived
547:preludes
524:mazurkas
277:and the
149:Children
1280:YouTube
1201:Sources
745:May 31,
708:May 31,
671:May 31,
555:Copland
528:sonatas
357:Geelong
353:Horsham
341:Bendigo
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436:Qantas
361:Chopin
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318:, and
166:, 1926
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89:, U.S.
989:Trove
882:, 33.
616:Notes
478:78RPM
187:Times
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