This installment of the William Kapell Edition charts but one more corner of the Russian piano repertory for which the pianist achieved an early fame. Kapell's 1946 recording of the appealing Khachaturian Concerto was the work's premiere recording, and the pianist immediately became associated with what became a jukebox favorite.
The gem of this disc, however, is Kapell's 1949 recording of Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto. In the explosive Allegro of the opening movement, Kapell moves between rippling pianissimo passages to lashing sforzando chords with consummate ease. A greater testament to Kapell's musical and technical skills comes in the variations of the second movement. His shifts from the mood of one variation to the mood of the next are immediate, passionate, and thoroughly convincing. He moves from the lush chordal lyricism of the first variation to the breathless abandon of the second, flying across the keyboard and never losing his way. The entire performance sizzles with a nervous energy that will most likely captivate any listener.