William Kapell (1922-1953) - a brilliant and successful pianist by his early 20s, dead in a plane crash at the age of 31 - has long since entered American musical folklore. A generation of music lovers has grown up with the legend of young kapell: the first great American virtuoso pianist; the indefatigable worker renowned among his peers for his extended practice sessions; the superb technician who produced flamboyant, extroverted performances of 20th0century Russian piano music by Rachmaninoff, Khachaturian and Prokofiev, yet who was also capable of intimate, exquisitely honed renditions fo works by Chopin, Schubert, Beethoven and J.S. Bach.

William Kapell spent his last three months in Australia, where he played thirty-seven concerts in fourteen weeks between July and October 1953, appearing not only in Sydney and Melbourne but in smaller towns like Bendigo, Shepparton and Geelong. A week after giving his last concert in Geelong on October 22, the plane carrying him back to the United States crashed into King's Mountain, just south of San Francisco, killing everybody on board.

The legacy of the recording on Kapell reDiscoverd is made possible by passionate music lover Roy Preston, a Melbournce department store salesman. Starting in the late 1940s, Preston recorded concerts transmitted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporations, using a home recording machine with a needle that cut grooves into acetate discs and captured these stunning live recordings by William Kapell from his last tour.

Disc 1

1. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30; Allegro ma non tanto Kapell, William
   
2. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30;
3. Intermezzo: Adagio Kapell, William
   
4. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30; Finale: Alla breve Kapell, William
   
5. Suite in A Minor, BWV 818; Allemande Kapell, William
   
6. Suite in A Minor, BWV 818; Courante Kapell, William
   
7. Suite in A Minor, BWV 818; Sarabandes I and II Kapell, William
   
8. Suite in A Minor, BWV 818; Gigue Kapell, William
   
9. Pictures at an Exhibition; Promenade Kapell, William
   
10. Pictures at an Exhibition; The Gnome Kapell, William
    
11. Pictures at an Exhibition; Promenade Kapell, William
    
12. Pictures at an Exhibition; Il vecchio castello / The Old Castle Kapell, William
    
13. Pictures at an Exhibition; Promenade Kapell, William
    
14. Pictures at an Exhibition; Tuileries Kapell, William
    
15. Pictures at an Exhibition; Bydlo Kapell, William
    
16. Pictures at an Exhibition; Promenade Kapell, William
    
17. Pictures at an Exhibition; Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks Kapell, William
    
18. Pictures at an Exhibition; Samuel Goldenberg & Schmuyle Kapell, William
    
19. Pictures at an Exhibition; Promenade Kapell, William
    
20. Pictures at an Exhibition; Limoges - The Market Kapell, William
    
21. Pictures at an Exhibition; Catacombs (Sepulchrum romanum) Kapell, William
    
22. Pictures at an Exhibition; Con mortuis in lingua morta Kapell, William
    
23. Pictures at an Exhibition; The Hut on Fowl's Legs Kapell, William
    
24. Pictures at an Exhibition; The Great Gate at Kiev Kapell, William
    

Disc 2

1. God Save the Queen Kapell, William
   
2. Sonata No. 17 in B-Flat, K. 570; Allegro Kapell, William
   
3. Sonata No. 17 in B-Flat, K. 570; Adagio Kapell, William
   
4. Sonata No. 17 in B-Flat, K. 570; Allegretto Kapell, William
   
5. Suite bergamasque; Prélude Kapell, William
   
6. Suite bergamasque; Menuet Kapell, William
   
7. Suite bergamasque; Clair de lune Kapell, William
   
8. Suite bergamasque; Passepied Kapell, William
   Barcarolle, Op. 60 Kapell, William
   
9. Nocturne in E-Flat, Op. 55, No. 2 Kapell, William
   
10. Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 20 Kapell, William
    
11. Sonata No. 7 in B-Flat, Op. 83; Allegro inquieto; Andantino Kapell, William
    
12. Sonata No. 7 in B-Flat, Op. 83; Andante caloroso Kapell, William
    
13. Sonata No. 7 in B-Flat, Op. 83; Precipitato Kapell, William