When the music of Nikolai Kapustin was discovered by a wider audience in the West, it was positively shocking Who was this Soviet (!) composer, whose music sounded more like an Oscar Peterson improvisation than anything else - but who wrote detailed scores, black with notes?! As we discover more and more of his music and as we again can hear on the present recording, Kapustin developed his style subtly and steadily. He went with the times. As the music that influenced him changed, so did Kapustin's. The development of Big Band Jazz can be traced in his work. In that sense Kapustin never settled on one style (within the parameters of his unique fusion of jazz and classical, granted) but remained flexible about the musical material and the way he related it to the orchestra. Album Tracks 1. Variations for piano solo and big band, Op. 3 2. Toccata for piano solo and big band, Op. 8 3. Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra, Op. 14~I. Allegro molto 4. Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra, Op. 14~II. Andante 5. Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra, Op. 14~III. Rondo-Toccata. Vivace 6. Nocturne for piano and orchestra, Op. 16 7. Concert Rhapsody for piano and orchestra, Op. 25~I. Introduction 8. Concert Rhapsody for piano and orchestra, Op. 25~II. Humoresque 9. Concerto No. 6 for piano and big band, Op. 74~I. Allegro 10. Concerto No. 6 for piano and big band, Op. 74~II. Larghetto 11. Concerto No. 6 for piano and big band, Op. 74~III. Allegro giocoso