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I bought this CD almost by mistake. I was in a hurry when in the store, saw "Shostakovich" and "Preludes" and assumed it was the Preludes AND Fugues, which I have known and loved for many years. So I was a bit disappointed when I got home and discovered these were fugue-less. I'd never heard of this composition. The recording is on Naxos 8.555781, with Konstantin Scherbakov.These things are amazingly beguiling, composed in 1932-33. All very brief (the entire set lasts just over a half-hour), they reflect a wide range of moods. Some are soft and gentle as a whisper while others offer all the angular Shostakovichian power that's so familiar. I played the CD only to sample them for a bit but was so enthralled, I listened to the entire set. And the recorded sound is among the very, very best I have ever heard. It's simply real. If your tastes run anything along these lines, I think you'll be captivated by this recording. I sure was.
-Bob
Follow Ups:
but Nikolayeva adds another diminution to the preludes.I regret the always "defaulting to the classics" tendency that classical music fans do, certainly it's justified, but it's also not good for the industry.
That said, I bought Scherbakov and i've listened to it for a while, it was a driving-disc for a while so I got to know it in a non-audiophile setting. Later I bought the Nikolayeva, the difference is profound, or rather, human since she brings an authorial voice that the works (it turns out ) really need.
I would suggest that Nikolayeva makes the Preludes and Fugues larger than life, rather than making them smaller... :)Nikolayeva's is indeed the recording I have and love. I looked for Gilels's series, having heard him playing one or two of them and been very impressed, but I have never found out whether he recorded the complete set, or just a selection.
If you like Shostakovich's Preludes / Preludes and Fugues, look for the Sonatas. I find the First a little opaque, but I adore the Second. I heard it for the first time when Peter Donohoe played it in concert here.
n/t
I have Jarrett's recording, and it's a desert island disc for me. The work fascinates me as a "bookend" to Bach's Goldberg Variations, but I'll re-listen to them as evocations of the Well-Tempered Clavier, as suggested by Bambi.Cheers,
hesson11,I find the Shostakovich "24 Preludes and Fugues" to be really wonderful as well- No. 5 is a favourite. I have a couple of recordings of this, but ithe set by Boris Berman is really attractive. Keith Jarrett recorded them too and though it's not my first choice- I think that is the best performance of classical by Jarrett that I've heard.
The Preludes and Fugues were not from 1932-33 but rather done for the 200 anniversary of Bach's death in 1950 - a bit of a parallel to Mendelssohn's interest in Bach in 1850. And of course, the idea is based on the "Well-Tempered" sets. If you compare Shostakovich's compositions to Bach's in the same kay, there are numerous references- almost evocations.
The Preludes are wonderful pieces too, and Shostakovich ties the pairs together brilliantly, but I'm completely a sucker for fugues and will buy about any recording if it includes a fugue I've never heard. It's surprising how many composers- especially near the end of their careers wrote fugues. I one did a two-hour radio programme of just keyboard fugues and many people are surprised at the number written by composers after the era of counterpoint as the dominate style: Haydn (the epochal Op. 33 Quartets) Beethoven (Sonatas from 28-32, Grosse Fuge, Diabellis, 9th Symphony), Liszt (B.A.C.H.), even Satie. Schubert was studying counterpoint when he died. I think fugues were seen as a compositional challenge and it seems many composers became fascinated.
"Fugue" derives from the same root as "fugitive" and refers to "flight" or fleeing- the idea is the theme is chased in flight creating a distinct kind of energetic drive- a really elegant concept in my view.
Cheers,
I've been listening lately to Max Reger's Preludes and Fugues for solo violin (Mateja Marinkovic on ASV CD DCA 876). If you haven't heard them, you might want to give them a try. Quite absorbing pieces.By the way, I didn't mean to say the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues were composed in 1932-33. That's when the Preludes were written.
Bob,In my fugue-happy way I just took off and assumed you meant the op. 87 Preludes and Fugues also- sorry!
The Reger solo violin fugues are pieces I've never heard and I appreciate your mentioning them. A fugue on a solo violin must take quite the feats of prestidigitation- and super bowing!
Cheers,
I think in all honesty that calling them fugues may be just a tiny bit of an exaggeration, but they certainly are fugue-like! And they are enormously beautiful. That recording I mentioned was the world-premier recording (one volume of a two-volume set of 2 CDs each). It was recorded in 1994, so these works were shamefully neglected for too long.
-Bob
I have the same recording and I agree. Lovely music and, as usual, Naxos comes through with superb production values.
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