Red, white, and blue notes: the symbiotic music of Nikolai Kapustin /

by Mann, Jonathan Edward

Nikolai Kapustin’s solo piano music synthesizes classical form and jazz texture. He uses the language of jazz improvisation, but does not improvise. Instead, a jazz vernacular is presented in a contrapuntally dense framework of thematic organization, development, and restatement. Kapustin’s output is enormous, consisting of over 120 opus numbers for nearly all instrumental combinations in the codified Baroque, Classical, and Romantic forms including concertos, sonatas,, and etudes. No matter how vivid the incorporation of jazz may be, whether it be blues licks, symphonic stride, or propelling bebop syncopations, the level of workmanship and compositional technique are qualities that inescapably link Kapustin’s music to the classical world. This document posits whether Kapustin’s music is classical or jazz, investigates Kapustin’s musical background and education, and establishes his place in the history of jazz in Russia. It concludes with analyses of three solo piano works, Sonatina, Op. 100, Prelude No. 9 in E Major, Op. 53, and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, Op. 82. iii iv