American pianist William Kapell is one of the music’s lost treasures. He died in a plane crash at the age of 33, his star still very much in the ascendant, leaving behind a tragically small recorded legacy. Famed chiefly for bringing the music of Aram Khachaturian to public consciousness through his championing of the composer’s Piano Concerto, Kapell was equally inspired by the works of Sergey Rachmaninov, whose fiery Romantic temperament Kapell shared. This disc includes two of the composer’s most enduringly popular works, the glorious Piano Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Kapell’s playing is simply electric, combining blistering intensity with astounding technical security, giving us that rare treat of bringing all the excitement of a live performance to the recording studio.