The Brilliance of Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues

between the years of 1950 and ’51, dmitri Shostakovich crafted his celebrated collection titled 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87,positioned between his Ninth and Tenth Symphonies. The spark for this work ignited during the first International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig in ’50, where he was deeply inspired by Soviet pianist Tatiana nikolayeva’s interpretation of pieces from The Well-Tempered Clavier. Upon returning to Moscow, Shostakovich set out to create a series of preludes and fugues specifically for nikolayeva, consciously mirroring Bach’s stylistic elements while organizing them through the circle of fifths instead of following Bach’s chromatic method. He also wove in references to both Bach’s compositions and also his own earlier works.

By the next year, he had completed this ambitious project encompassing all major and minor keys; Nikolayeva premiered it in Leningrad in ’52. Throughout her career,she recorded this collection several times; her notable recording for Hyperion in ’90 has become a benchmark version.

Exploring Performance Interpretations

The differences between Nikolayeva’s interpretations compared to those by yulianna Avdeeva on her recent album are especially fascinating. Avdeeva—who won the International Chopin Piano competition held in Warsaw back in ’10—takes a more nuanced approach that may not explore as deeply into the frequently enough-hidden melancholy found within the E minor Prelude as Nikolayeva does; though, she excels wiht her lively rendition of the A minor Prelude. Her performance beautifully captures an exquisite sense of calm detachment within both the F-sharp minor prelude along with its mysterious fugue that follows.

An Innovative Contribution to Shostakovich’s Legacy

In addition to her performance from Opus 87, Avdeeva includes a prelude originally drafted by Shostakovich for this collection but left unfinished; Polish composer Krzysztof Meyer later completed it with an added fugue composed by him. In an unusual event during ’20, Avdeeva premiered this complete work—a fitting finale to an already remarkable performance.