Chopin: Mazurkas

I can only echo the praise given by past reviewrs to Kapell's sterling collection of Mazurkas, which he recorded in two batches at Town Hall during December, 1951, and February, 1952 (a couple of additional ones were discovered from June, 1952, done at the RCA studios). The sound is clear, detailed mono that is a bit hard in tone, however, so one cannot comfortably turn the volume up beyond medium, a minor quibble.

This is miraculously effortless Chopin playing, all the more so because the Mazurkas, a form unique to Chopin, have always been tricky to interpret. Chopin himself was quite improvisatory in his approach to them, and there has been a quasi-mystical regard for pianists who learned the style in a direct line from the composer. Essentially mazurkas are Polish folk dances in 3/4 time like the waltz, but with off-kilter (agogic) accents. In the wrong hands, a mazurka can sound as if the rhythm is scrambled and formless. Horowitz, among others, overcame this problem by using strong, pingy accents to point the way for the listener.

Kapell cuts the Gordian knot by being so thoroughly at ease that he seems to be playing very simply. But unlike Rubinstein, who tended to make every mazurka sound alike, Kapell finds all kinds of shadings and moods. Suddenly the form makes sense, and each dance stands on its own as a personality. I can honestly say that his is the only all-Mazurka program I have ever been able to sit through (Chopin never intended them as a cycle; the Mazurkas cover a dozen opus numbers, coming in batches of one, two, and three).

When all is said and done, the authentic folk mazurka is lost to us -- it's as if we had the printed scores to tango music but had never encountered real tango performers. We must rely instead on simpatico pianists who can feel their way through the underbrush of cross-rhythms, hesitations, melodic snatches, and contrasting moods. Given the difficulty of the task, no one has done it as beautifully as Kapell. What a great loss.

I love Chopin, but I am not a musician myself. I was really shocked to discover that there is a really different sound when one pianist or another plays the exact same piece. This fellow W Kappell has a very disctinct style, very clanging and harsh i thought. Im afraid i dont like it at all, but like i said, im no musician. I much prefer the Favourite Chopin 2cd set i just found at the library featuring pianist: Vladimir Ashkenazy.

One of the best performances of Mazurkas I have ever heard.
Everybody who loves Chopin and his simple masterworks should have this CD. It is just perfect playing!
Tiroui

Chopin's Mazurkas have always proven an especially challenging collection for pianists. Over the last century three pianists came to be associated with them - Iganz Friedman, Arthur Rubinstein and William Kapell. Kapell, who died tragically at the age of 31 in a plane crash in 1953 had recorded a considerable number, and these are what make up this selection. Along with the two mentioned artists Kapell was instinctively at home with these highly complex short works. Where most pianists, even the very best ones could struggle a bit in these works' pitfalls, Kapell made it sound all so effortless. He was just at home in the Mazurka's tangled voices as a rabbit in a briar patch.
If you are familiar with some of Kapell's other performances and fear he might be too aggressive or push too hard here, fear not, this is really a very different Kapell then the driven concert performer.
The sound is perfectly acceptable and I highly urge you to consider this CD along with the performances of the Mazurkas by Friedman and Rubinstein. You will have a marvelous collection with some of the most intriquing and personal music Chopin ever composed.

Kapell's piano was imposing in mass and these Mazurcas selection are played with élan, full of delicacy , and rounded at all dynamics levels performed with aristocratic elegance and aristocratic mien .
Kapell was always a passionate man and in the search for the rightful tone , the precise articulation to get what he wanted literally signed for the eternity these piano works loaded with that intimacy hard to find in concert halls .
Fifty years ago in that absurd accident William Kapell the most prominent pianist of his generation died , leaving behind him a meteoric career a fevered pianism of the highest level .
And in this special and painful day I share with my intimate friends and music lovers and meet them to pay a more than deserved homage to his memory .
Several generations of pianists have emerged with undeniable virtues and amazing technique but most of them are not capable to state such level of commitment with the music beyond the score .
That is why his throne still keeps empty .