Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart :: Bach: Partita No. 4; Suite in A minor; Debussy: Children's Corner

The supreme genius of William Kapell!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 07/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is not easy to forget, despite all these elapsed years, the enormous stature in the musical firmament this keyboard giant signified and still on.



In particular in what concerns to this volume. His Bach's performance is unerring. The purity and crystalline phrasing walks joined with that profound musicality and remarkable expression, tinged of this dark poetry and magisterial fingering: Kapell exuded humanity, sentiment and conviction. As a matter fact, I was precisely listening this album and immediately went for my other battle horses: Glenn Gould, a brilliant and pitifully unavailable edition of Paul Badura Skoda in the fifties and in spite of the fact we are talking essential references they have nothing to do respect this superb musical register.



The miniaturist Sonata of Scarlatti is simply unbeatable. It owns brightness, meridian neatness and enraptured elegance.



His Mozart `s Adagio is loaded with a sublime lyricism. But when you listen Albeniz' s Evocation you will remain amazed with such pristine performance: one of his greatest achievements.



It will be hard for all us, to listen again such expressive version of Piano Playtime, composed by Abram Chasins as well as his Toccata Obstinato.



His Debussy is emblematically atmospheric and incorporeal. The impressionist scents are suggested with an absolute employment of the pedal. How will you be able to forget this unsurpassable performance of "The girl with the flaxen hair" under the velvet fingering and aristocratic approach of W.K.? . To my mind, Children' s corner is to Debussy what Childhood scenes meant for Robert Schumann; a set of lovable and easy to listen pieces for the simple delight of smart kids, but hovered with that magic scent of poetic expression, naïve freshness and engaging lyricism, that would seem to anticipate the future Erik Satie' s Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes.



Believe me when I tell you that, in case you have not acquired the complete box of ten volumes, by several reasons, you should begin with this album; and after that you will be seriously thinking as a first rank priority to get the entire box.



In William Kapell's memory (Sep 20 1922 / Oct. 29 1953).

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