William Kapell was halfway through what might have emerged as a complete Chopin Mazurka cycle when he perished in a 1953 plane crash. The pianist’s fierce perfectionism, though, had more than a little to do with various recording projects left incomplete at the time of his tragically early death. Yet he approached the Mazurkas with casual diffidence, polishing them off in a single take, or allowing the studio mike to capture his prima vista readings of selections he hadn’t played before. The playing is beautifully considered, and positively blooms with nobility and nuance. Yet the results often seem studied instead of spontaneous, lacking verve and characterful variety from piece to piece. I miss the rhythmic ginger that Arthur Rubinstein brought to his 1954 Mazurka cycle, or Iganz Friedman’s symphonic abandon. It’s abundantly clear, however, that a serious interpretive personality is at work. In addition, the performances offer glimpses of a more subjective and inward-looking Kapell than his fiery, headlong counterpart of the 1940s. If you missed this disc among RCA’s complete Kapell boxed set, buy this individual release now, rather than later. The remastering, by the way, deserves its own Grammy award.
