William Kapell Collection

Summary: William Kapell (1922-1953) was a brilliant American pianist whose life and career were cut short by the crash of an airplane at age 31 on return from an overseas tour. He won both a Naumburg Award and the Philadelphia Orchestra Youth Concert competition (1941), which helped him make major debuts both as a recitalist and as a player of concerti. He toured North America annually thereafter, performing both with major orchestras and as a recitalist, and he became an advocate of contemporary American music. He also toured Australia (1945), South America (1946, 1948, and 1951), and Europe (1947). His artistry is documented on recordings for RCA Victor between 1944 and 1953. Returning from Australia in October 1953, his plane crashed into a mountain moments before its scheduled landing in San Francisco.

Full History: William Kapell ( 1922-1953) was a brilliant American pianist whose life and career were cut short by the crash of an airplane on which he was returning from an overseas tour in October 1953. He was barely 31, but was already acknowledged as the leading American pianist of his generation; some have said he would have been the greatest pianist of the 20th century.

He studied piano with Dorothea Anderson LaFollette at the Yorkville Settlement School in New York and with Olga Samaroff at the Philadelphia Conservatory and (later) at the Juilliard School. In 1941 he won both a Naumburg Award and the Philadelphia Orchestra Youth Concert competition. This gave him opportunities for major debuts both as a recitalist and as a player of concerti. In 1942 he was given the Town Hall Endowment Series Award, providing him with still another Town Hall recital (in the 1942-43 season.)

He toured North America annually thereafter, performing both with major orchestras and as a recitalist. He became an advocate of contemporary American piano music, and seems to have been especially prized by American composers. In 1945 he played a series of concerts in Australia, beginning to build an international reputation. He toured South America three times (1946, 1948, and 1951). He seemed to have a particular affection for music of South America that is reflected in his personal collection of piano music. He played in Europe in 1947 , the same year in which RCA Victor began to release his recordings. In mid-1953 he performed in Tel Aviv, played at Casals' s Prades Festival, and gave his final series of performances during the course of a three-month Australian tour. Returning from Australia, his plane crashed into a mountain moments before its scheduled landing in San Francisco.