Eugen Arturovich Kapp ( – 29 October 1996) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and music educator. Characterized by simple

harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

, march

rhythms Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular rec ...

and an appealing

melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...

style, his music is reflective upon the musical ideas favoured by the Stalinist regime of the 1940s and 1950s. He is best remembered today for his contribution to Russian

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

. Born in

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

, in the

Astrakhan Governorate The Astrakhan Governorate () was an Imperial, Republican, and Soviet Russian administrative division (), which existed from 1717 – 1929. Created from separating the southwestern part of the Kazan Governorate, by Peter I's Reform in 1717. And ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, Kapp was the son of

Artur Kapp Artur Kapp (28 February 1878 – 14 January 1952) was an Estonian composer. Born in Suure-Jaani, Estonia, then part of the Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire, he was the son of Joosep Kapp, who was also a classically trained musician. K ...

, also a composer and teacher. His first cousin was the composer, organist and music teacher

Villem Kapp Villem Kapp (7 September 1913 – 24 March 1964) was an Estonian composer, organist and music teacher. Life Born in Suure-Jaani, Estonia, Villem Kapp was the son of who was a sacristan, teacher and choir director. Villem Kapp graduated in 19 ...

. Kapp studied under his father at the

Tallinn Conservatory The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

and graduated from there in 1931. Four years later he joined the adjunct faculty at the Conservatory where he taught music theory and composition. He won the

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

in 1946 for his

''Tasuleegid'' (‘Fire of Revenge’). In 1947 he was appointed a full professor at the Conservatory, acting as rector from 1952 to 1964. Several of Kapp's students, such as Eino Tamberg, went on to have successful careers. From 1948 to 1965, Kapp served as chairman of the

Estonian Composers' Union Estonian Composers' Union (abbeviation ECU; et, Eesti Heliloojate Liit) is an Estonian creative union which encompasses professional composers and musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logi ...

. In 1950 he was awarded a Stalin Prize for another opera, ''Vabaduse laulik'' ("Bard of Freedom"), followed by a third prize in 1952 for the

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

''Kalevipoeg''. Kapp died in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, Estonia in 1996.

Operas

*''Tasuleegid'' (1945) *''Vabaduse laulik'' (1950) *''Talvemuinasjutt'' (1959) *''Tabamatu'' (1961) *''Assol'' (1965) *''Rembrandt'' (1975) *''An Unseen Wonder'' (1983)

Sources

*Urve Lippus. The '' New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', edited by Stanley Sadie (1992). and *Don Michael Randel. The ''Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music'' (1996). 1908 births 1996 deaths People from Astrakhan People from Astrakhan Governorate Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1947–1951 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1951–1955 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1959–1963 Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Estonian opera composers Soviet opera composers Soviet composers Soviet male composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Estonian composers Estonian music educators 20th-century male musicians People's Artists of the USSR People's Artists of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Stalin Prize winners Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Burials at Metsakalmistu {{Estonia-composer-stub