ESTONIAN SYMPHONIC MUSIC. THE FIRST CENTURY 1896-1996.
chronological order of their completion – was the dramatic overture Don Carlos1,
composed as a term work by Artur Kapp in 1899.
Artur Kapp graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatoire in composition in
1900. He continued working in St. Petersburg as a teacher and organist, having given
concerts in Moscow, Estonia and Finland since 1898. In 1904 he accepted the post of
director at the Astrakhan2 Music School, where his activities were numerous: teaching,
composing prolifically, and performing as an organist and conductor. In 1920 he
returned home to Estonia.
Don Carlos was first performed in Pavlovsk3, later in Moscow, in Astrakhan and
in Tartu4. In the work the main feature of Kapp’s individual style for powerful dramatic
tension associated with passionate lyricism was already developing. The score has an
abundance of thematic material. The introductory theme begins with the doleful sounds
of a French horn:
Example 8.
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