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Jakov Kaploun was born on June 9, 1907 at Golta, (today know as Pervomaisk), a small town in the Ukraine located between Nikolaiev and Odessa. Jakov, called familarly Jankel;, was the eldest son of a large family. His father, Leib Kaploun, was a famous Jewish shoemaker known for his work throughout the region of Golta. As a grand connaisseur of classical music, he owned a grammaphone and two hundred records of operas and symphonic music. It was difficult in a small town to find a music teacher, but finally a Klezmer (a musician who played for Jewish weddings and funerals) was found to teach Jankel the violin. Kaploun also studied drawing and painting in addition to music. In 1914, he gave his first concert to raise money for the wounded during the First World War. Between 1914-1921, the family lived through a difficult period because of pogroms and the political upheaval due to political change in the Ukraine. Kaploun's father managed however to find a professional music teacher, named Feder, to teach the youngster the violin and beginning composition. In 1923, Kaploun was admitted to the Musico-dramatical Institute of Odessa (MouzDramIn) in the class of the famous teacher P. S. Stoliarsky. During these years at the Institute, Kaploun improved his violonistic technique and established the basis of his future concert repertoire. He participated with enthusiasm in orchestral and chamber music concerts, took up the Viola, began teaching the violin as an assistant at the Institute and composed many new works. It was during this period that he composed "The Song of Hiawatha" after the poem by Longfellow for chamber orchestra, the version for violin solo of the "Variations on a Finnish theme";, a "Berceuse"; for Violon and Piano, several etudes and preludes as well as a "Scherzo"for Violin and Orchestra. During a voyage to Odessa, the composer Glazunov hear the "Variations"; of Kaploun and used the theme for his own variations. Glazunov gave the young Kaploun a manuscript of the theme inscribed with "to a Young Composer of Talent" Later, Kaploun added a Piano part to the Variations. In 1928, Kaploun moved to Moscow, where he was named the First Violin of the Orchestra of the Central House of the Red Army (CDKA). During these two years of military service, he studied with the Violinist Jampolsky as well as with the composition teacher Giliaiev. He began to conduct in addition to performing as a soloist and playing chamber music. He wrote a series of Poems for Violin and Piano, dedicated to his future wife, pianist. Fima (Frouma) Lebedinsky, who he met during his studies in Odessa and who he married in 1931. During 1930-31, Kaploun was a violist for the State Radio Orchestra in Moscow. After his marriage in 1931, Kaploun left with his wife for Tiflis (now Tbilissi), the capital of Georgia. He was named first Violin of the Transcaucasian Radio Orchestra and performed two weekly solo broadcast concert with his wife, in which he performed nearly all of the important works for Violin and Piano. Between 1932-1952 Kaploun was named first Viola of the Orchestra of the Bolchoi in Moscow. During this period, he continued to study conducting at the Moscow Conservatory with his old friend Stoliarov and also won prizes at the Second Soviet Contest for musicians in Leningrad. During the Second World War, the Troup of the Bolchoi was evacuated to Kouibychev (Samara) where performances continued. The Year 1942 began dramatically with the discovery that the composer's family in the Ukraine had all been killed during the attack of the Wehrmacht. However, in November, two of his musical compositions received prizes for the Commoration of the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution: The concert March 'The Call of the Nation' and the Oratorio 'Ukraine, my Motherland' The Bolchoi returned to Moscow in 1943 and the following year, JakovKaploun was admitted to the Soviet Composers Union. 1945, he received his diploma at the Moscow Conservatory in the conducting class of N. Anossov. His most famous work the "Nine Preludes for Violin and Piano" was premièred in 1946. This dramatic work, inspired by the events of the War, had an immediate sucess and was shortlisted for the Stalin Prize. However, the fight in the Soviet Union against "Cosmopolitan influences" had begun and the movement in official Soviet music tended towards less formalistic, more easily understood forms. Anyone with a foreign sounding name became suspect, especially names with Jewish origins. The "Nine Preludes" was therefore not one of the winning works, and this situation lead to the events which ended Kaploun's public creative life. During 1947, because of the loss of his parents and the current reign of terror against musicians,Kaploun began experiencing the chronic depression which lead eventually to his "retirement for artistic reasons"; in 1952 at the age of 45. His last works include an unfinished string quartet. The Preludes were performed with sucess by the famous violinist Grigori Feiguine in 1972. The last years of his life, Kaploun taught Violin and Viola, gave composition lessons as well as music lessons to his grandson the Operatic Bass and composer Kamil Tchalaev. On May 28, 1985, : Jakov Kaploun died suddenly of a stroke, one week before his 78th birthday. Irina Chalayeva-Caploon Translation PW © 2003. TchalaevNet Chronological List of works by Kaploun 1924-27 “The Song of Haiawatha” after the poem by Longfellow for chamber orchestra ( lost, student work in Odessa) 1927 “Variations on a Finnish Theme” for Solo Violin 1928 “Variations on a Finnish Theme” for Violin and Piano 1929 “Berceuse” for Violin and Piano 1930 “Impromptu”for Violin and Piano 1929-31 “Four Poèmes” for Violin and Piano 1937-44 “Nine Preludes” for Violin and Piano (Ed. d'Union des Compositeurs Soviétiques 1947) 1942 Concert March "The Call of the Nation” for Military Orchestra/Wind Band 1942 “Ukrainia, My Native Land” for Soloists, Mixed Chorus and Orchestra 1951-53 “String Quartet” (unfinished)
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