NIKOLAI KAPUSTIN (b.1937): 24 Preludes in Jazz Style, Op. 53.

Description: This unique Russian composer uses jazz materials in a classical form, often sounding like jazz improvisation, but everything is written out down to the tiniest detail. Kapustin cites Oscar Peterson as his most influential figure but, as the notes put it, the composer has synthesized everything from Scott Joplin to Keith Jarrett and, in the Suite, deals in spirituals and gospel music while, in the Concert Etudes, someone like Scriabin or Lyapunov peeps in to remind us of the composer's origins. After recordings of his music by Stephen Coombs, Marc-André Hamelin on Hyperion and John Salmon on Naxos, we now have a chance to hear the composer himself in his Preludes (11 of which are not available on disc). Nikolai Kapustin (piano). Original 1989 Melodiya release.