Nikolai Kapustin

Nikolai Kapustin Russian Николай Капустин Nikolay Kapustin Born November 22 1937 In Gorlovka Ukraine - Died July 2 2020 Was A Russian Composer And Pianist. Kapustin Studied Piano With Avrelian Rubakh Pupil Of Felix Blumenfeld Who Also Taught Simon Barere And Vladimir Horowitz And Later Alexander Goldenweiser At The Moscow Conservatory. During The 1950s He Acquired A Reputation As A Jazz Pianist Arranger And Composer. He Was Steeped Therefore In Both The Traditions Of Classical Virtuoso Pianism And Improvisational Jazz. He Fused These Influences In His Compositions Using Jazz Idioms In Formal Classical Structures. A Striking Example Of This Is His Suite In The Old Style Op. 28 Written In 1977 Which Inhabits The Sound World Of Jazz Improvisation But Is Modelled On Baroque Suites Such As The Keyboard Partitas Composed By J. S. Bach Each Movement Being A Stylised Dance Or Sometimes A Pair Of Dances In Strict Binary Form. Other Examples Of This Fusion Are His Set Of 24 Preludes And Fugues Op. 82 Written In 1997 And The Op. 100 Sonatina. Kapustin Viewed Himself As A Composer Rather Than A Jazz Musician. He Said "I Was Never A Jazz Musician. I Never Tried To Be A Real Jazz Pianist But I Had To Do It Because Of The Composing. I’m Not Interested In Improvisation – And What Is A Jazz Musician Without Improvisation? All My Improvisation Is Written Of Course And They Became Much Better It Improved Them." Among His Works Are 17 Piano Sonatas Six Piano Concerti Other Instrumental Concerti Sets Of Piano Variations Études And Concert Studies. The Composer Had Extensively Recorded His Own Music On Russian And Japanese Record Labels. His Music Has Recently Been Championed By A Number Of Prominent Western Pianists Notably Steven Osborne And Marc-André Hamelin. read less