Nikolai Kapustin, a pupil of Alexander Goldenweiser at the Moscow Conservatoire, became one of Russia's most admired jazz pianist-composers.
Performer Biography
Earl Wild, one of the greatest American pianists of the 20th century, made his unscheduled concerto debut at 15 with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Some composers, like Debussy and Ravel, sought new musical language through folk music, new scales, and non-classical developments such as jazz and popular music.
Historical Context
The entry of the United States into World War I brought American music, including jazz, to Europe, influencing composers there.
Compositional Technique
Unusually, Nikolai Kapustin's music, though inhabiting jazz idioms naturally, is entirely written out and carefully notated.
Recording & Production
This recording was made in Tonstudio Ölberg-Kirche, Berlin, in August 2025, and features a C. Bechstein D 282 concert grand piano.
Historical Context
Many archetypical American composers, including Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Richard Rodgers, Leonard Bernstein, and Philip Glass, had Russian roots.
