Mykola Hirshovych Kapustin (born 22 November 1937, Horlivka, Donetsk region - 2 July 2020) was a Ukrainian and Russian composer and pianist. He gained a reputation as a jazz pianist in 1950-1960. He achieved international recognition.
Biography.
Nikolai Kapustin gained a reputation as a jazz pianist, arranger and composer in the 1950s and 1960s. Starting his career as a classical composer, he also tried his hand at jazz works, quoting Oscar Peterson, whose work he was influenced by.
At the age of 7, he began piano lessons with Professor Aurelian Rubbach (1895-1975), a student of Felix Blumenfeld, who also taught Simon Barer and Vladimir Horowitz. He was Kapustin's first serious teacher, with whom Mykola Hirshovych studied intensively for 11 years. During his studies, Kapustin went through the process of becoming a classical pianist, performing works by Bach, Clementi, Scarlatti, Liszt, Beethoven...; passing various scales, arpeggios, etc. at technical examinations.
At the age of 18, he entered the Moscow Conservatoire to study piano in the class of Oleksandr Borysovych Goldenweiser. Kapustin recalled that his acquaintance with such a prominent, legendary person influenced him and his development as a pianist. It is worth noting that Goldenweiser was 82 years old at the time, and he was unable to provide his student with high-quality technical training. During his work, the teacher recalled a lot of old times and told interesting facts about composers, sharing his impressions. Goldenweiser marvelled at Mykola Hirshovych's musicality and pianistic abilities, and deeply respected and loved his student.
For some time, Kapustin dreamed of becoming a virtuoso pianist and performing classical music, not on large stages, but in a more intimate setting or recording in studios. But at the age of about 20, the pianist became interested in jazz.
In 1957, Kapustin and the Orchestra of the Central House of Arts Workers performed at the VI International Festival of Youth and Students held in Moscow. At that time, the festival had 34,000 participants representing 131 countries. The festival was the largest in its history. And it was here, on the world stage, that Kapustin debuted his work, namely the Piano Concerto (which he wrote the same year). It was then that the composer found his vocation in the organic combination of classical structure with recorded jazz improvisations, harmonies, rhythms, chords, syncopations, etc.
In addition to studying at the conservatory, Kapustin and his small jazz band performed in prestigious restaurants for foreigners. One of these salon concerts was recorded and later broadcast on the Voice of America radio.
In 1961, Mykola Hirshovych graduated from the Moscow Conservatoire.
The years 1961-1972 are marked by his collaboration with the Oleg Lundstrom Orchestra. During his time with the orchestra, Kapustin proved himself to be a virtuoso pianist with phenomenal technique and a talented composer, writing a number of new works.
1972-1977 - pianist of the Blue Screen Orchestra. He also performed with the State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR Cinematography.
The end of the 70s saw Kapustin's transition from performing to composing, a fruitful and diverse activity. He composed many works of various genres for orchestra and solo piano.
His works were published with the help of Stephen Osborne and Nikolai Petrov. Kapustin's piano compositions have been included in their repertoire and recorded by Marc-André Amlen [Archived 20 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine], Nikolai Petrov and others. Hence the fascination with Kapustin's music abroad. The composer himself recorded many times with unsurpassed performances of his own works.
On 11 December 2007, a concert dedicated to the composer's work was held in Moscow, where he lives, and was attended by the author. On 8 March 2009, a concert of his works was held in the Chamber Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, where the composer was also present and answered numerous questions from fans of his work.
Composer
Nikolai Kapustin was trained as a pianist only, but he did not receive a degree in composition. All of his compositions are the result of his experience in classical and jazz piano, his independent and systematic development of compositional logic.
Mykola Hirshovych's first experience in composition was at the age of 13. He composed a piano sonata, which, according to the composer, was written in the classical key. However, this work was never published, and the sonata is considered lost.
In 1957, he composed the Piano Concerto Op. 1, his first "opus" work.
He combines the traditions of classical virtuoso pianism and improvisational jazz, combining jazz improvisations with the structural model of baroque suites. An example is his Suite in the Old Style, Op. 28, written in 1977.
In 1984, he composed his first large-scale work for piano - a piano sonata. This is the first time Kapustin has turned to the sonata structure.
The same year he composed Variations, Op. 41, for solo piano. In this work, Kapustin preserves the structure of a classical variation (i.e., it begins with a theme, followed by variations of different textures, the penultimate variation is in minor, and the finale is virtuosic). In the variations we find important features of the composer's individual style: "orchestral" texture (bass voice - bass guitar, double bass, drums; alto/tenor voice - wind instruments; soprano - piano solo) and its wide range of application, harmonic colouring achieved by the total use of septacords and their various types, rotations and juxtapositions (D9, D13, III9, etc. etc.); expressive and special melody, which sometimes becomes a harmony, sometimes a brilliant improvisation; virtuoso technique (the variations are dotted with various chords, fast passages in separate hands and in unison, jumps to different intervals/chords, metrical and rhythmic syncopations). The composer does not divide the variations into parts. However, if we divide them into 9 variations, we will find in the second "variation" a typical Kapustin technique - crossing of the arms, which is used exclusively to impress the audience.
In 1988, Kapustin composed a piano cycle entitled 24 Preludes in Jazz Style, Op. 53. This is a kind of reference to the past, namely to the structural form of Chopin's cycle of preludes. The preludes are arranged according to the principle of quarto-quintuple progression, with alternating major and minor keys (C Dur, a moll, G Dur, e moll ...). Most of the preludes are written in the form of ABA.
In 1989, the composer wrote one of his most complex works - the Second Piano Sonata. It has 4 movements. It is the longest among his 20 sonatas.
In 1991 he wrote 10 Bagatelles, Op. 59.
In 1997, Kapustin tried his hand at polyphony, writing 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 82.
The composer's oeuvre includes such genres as piano sonatas (20) and sonatas for chamber instruments (for violin/cello/bass (!) and piano), piano concertos and concertos for various instruments, numerous miniatures for piano and other instruments, works for chamber orchestras, piano cycles, piano jazz etudes... He did not compose in the broad vocal and symphonic genres. A total of 161 opuses of his works have been released, including the latest one in 2016 under the title "The Moon Rainbow".
A detailed list of Mykola Kapustin's works is given in a separate article in the English-language section of Wikipedia.
