William Kapell | |
|---|---|
 William Kapell in 1948 | |
| Born | Oscar William Kapell September 20, 1922 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 29, 1953 (aged 31) |
| Cause of death | Aviation accident |
| Occupation | Pianist |
| Years active | 1937–1953 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Oscar William Kapell[1] (September 20, 1922 – October 29, 1953) was an American classical pianist. The Washington Post described him as "America's first great pianist",[2] while The New York Times described him as "one of the last century's great geniuses of the keyboard"[3] and Times critic and pianist Michael Kimmelman, writing in The New York Review of Books, remarked: "Was there any greater American pianist born during the last century than Kapell? Perhaps not."[4] In 1953, at age 31, Kapell died in the crash of BCPA Flight 304 while returning from a concert tour in Australia.
- ^ Masters, Richard (2023). Encyclopedia of American classical pianists: 1800s to the present. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-5381-7146-2.
- ^ "WILLIAM KAPELL'S PIANO BENCHMARK". Washington Post. January 9, 2024. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
America's first great pianist has finally been accorded the tribute he deserves.
- ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (November 10, 2004). "The Found Treasures of a Great Pianist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
When the 31-year-old pianist William Kapell, one of the last century's great geniuses of the keyboard, was killed in a plane crash in 1953, he was returning from a concert tour in Australia.
- ^ Kimmelman, Michael (March 24, 2005). "The Undefeated". The New York Review of Books. Vol. 52, no. 5. ISSN 0028-7504. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
Was there any greater American pianist born during the last century than Kapell? Perhaps not. Certainly he was the most famous American-born player before Van Cliburn.