Eugen Kapp (1908–1996) was an Estonian, Soviet composer and educator. He was born in Astrakhan on May 26, 1908, into a musical family. His father, the composer Arthur Kapp, directed the Astrakhan Music School. As a child, Eugen studied piano with A. G. Vepritskaya and began trying to compose.
After his family moved to Tallinn in 1920, Kapp studied piano at the Tallinn Conservatory with Peeter Ramul and Theodor Lemba from 1922 to 1926. He then studied composition with his father, graduating in 1931. He taught music from 1935 and joined the conservatory’s faculty that year, later becoming a professor. From 1952 to 1965, he served as its rector.
Kapp wrote operas, ballets, symphonies, chamber music, choral works, songs, and music for theater and film. His operas included Lights of Vengeance (1945), Singer of Freedom (1950), Winter’s Tale (1958), and Rembrandt (1975); his ballets included Kalevipoeg (Son of Kalev) (1948) and the children’s ballet Golden Spinners (1956). His orchestral works included three symphonies, the symphonic poem The Avenger (1931), and the suite Tallinn Pictures (1949). He also wrote about 300 songs.
His compositions regularly appeared on programs at Estonian song festivals. Kapp composed music for dramatic productions, including Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Much Ado About Nothing, as well as for films such as Life in the Citadel (1947) and Captain of the First Rank (1958). He organized Estonian artistic ensembles in Yaroslavl and taught a number of Estonian composers. His honors included the title People’s Artist of the USSR in 1956 and three second-degree Stalin Prizes, awarded for Lights of Vengeance, Kalevipoeg, and Singer of Freedom.
Kapp died in Tallinn on October 29, 1996.