Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 [Import]

Dmitry Shostakovich (Composer), Tatiana Nikolayeva (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Tatiana Nikolayeva
• Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich
• Audio CD (November 18, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B000002ZO8
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,006 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Prelude And Fugue No 1 In C Major: Prelude : Moderato - D. Shostakovich

2. Prelude And Fugue No 1 In C Major: Fugue Moderato - D. Shostakovich

3. Prelude And Fugue No 2 In A Minor: Prelude: Allegro - D. Shostakovich

4. Prelude And Fugue No 2 In A Minor: Fugue: Allegro - D. Shostakovich

5. Prelude And Fugue No 4 In E Minor: Prelude: Andante - D. Shostakovich

6. Prelude And Fugue No 4 In E Minor: Fugue Adagio -- Piu mosso - D. Shostakovich

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Prelude And Fugue No 11 B Major: Prelude: Allegro (2,2; 80 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

2. Prelude And Fugue No 11 B Major: Fugue (3 Voices): Allegro (2,4; 138 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

3. Prelude And Fugue No 12 In G Sharp Minor: Prelude: Andante (3,4; 119 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

4. Prelude And Fugue No 12 In G Sharp Minor: Fugue(4 Voices): Allegro (5,4; 123 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

5. Prelude And Fugue No 13 In F Sharp Major: Prelude: Moderato con moto (6,8; 55 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

6. Prelude And Fugue No 13 In F Sharp Major: Fugue (5 Voices): Adagio (2,4; 164 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Prelude And Fugue No 18 In F Minor: Prelude: Moderato (3,4; 50 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

2. Prelude And Fugue No 18 In F Minor: Fugue (4 Voices): Moderato con moto (2,4; 210 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

3. Prelude And Fugue No 19 In E Flat Major: Prelude: Allegretto (3,4; 133 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

4. Prelude And Fugue No 19 In E Flat Major: Fugue (3 Voices): Moderato con moto (5,4; 72 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

5. Prelude And Fugue No 20 In C Minor: Prelude: Adagio (4,4; 59 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

6. Prelude And Fugue No 20 In C Minor: Fugue (4 Voices): Moderato (4,4; 124 Bars) - Dmitri Shostakovich

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Often slow and labored... and too expensive, March 6, 2004

By 

hjonkers (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 (Audio CD)

Tatiana Nikolayeva is considered the foremost interpreter of these works, but these are probably not her best recordings of the Preludes and Fugues. She made earlier recordings on the Melodiya label that are generally said to be technically better and equipped with more spirit than these 1990 accounts on Hyperion. As I've been informed, you can find that set on a new issue from the Regis label. This one, however, is far from ideal. Many of these preludes and fugues sound labored and heavy, and above all slow. She takes fairly everything at much more restrained tempi than the composer indicated; sometimes with wonderful results but often the music suffers of it. The humor in the E flat major prelude gets totally lost, for example, and the tension in the E flat minor sounds fabricated instead of natural. There's no question that she can also be staggeringly beautiful, such as in the sunny A major fugue or the A flat major prelude, but in the end the set's unevenness is too large. Much of the spirit in Shostakovich' music has gone here, and many fugues are played so slowly that they made me quite impatient. Additionally, her dragging takes often result in a very pounding, labored and tiresome sound, like in the G major and D flat major fugues. The muddy studio sound of Hyperion doesn't help either. So, in spite of many fine moments, this set is too unbalanced to get a really good recommendation. I'd go for Ashkenazy, who plays much faster, more vivid and natural and without Nikolayeva's too affected touch. Or maybe Scherbakov or Nikolayeva's earlier set, though I don't know the two of those myself. And, finally: you can get both Ashkenazy and Scherbakov at a much lower price than this set alone.

(To a few other reviewers: yes, it's possible not to like this set as much as you do)

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sublime brilliance, December 3, 1999

By 

David Morris (Vienna, Austria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 (Audio CD)

Tatiana Nikolayeva's recording is simply hypnotic. Anyone familiar with Shostakovitch will also know that he was a sensitive pianist, and Mrs Nikolayeva frames the composer's persona perfectly. She manages to identify and personify the romantic melancholy, the reticient joy and dramatic tension of Shostakovitch. Her playing evokes a kind of wordless poetry, transporting you to settings that are almost physical: a moody apartment on a gray day, a solitary contemplation on the riverbank, a stroll through an empty park, an afternoon in a sad cafe, the beautiful face of a stranger too shy to return your unspoken advances. Magical.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars for a dead-on review too, July 10, 2005

By 

Wayne A. (Belfast, Northern Ireland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 (Audio CD)

"A MUSIC FAN" below gets right to an important point. I purchased this set because I wanted to hear what this highly regarded (by other professionals) artist had to say about these pieces. Yes, they're slower than others, Knappertsbusch and Klemperer took slower tempos than most. Glenn Gould did unusual interpretations. Schnabel missed keys. So what--these people are not hacks or grammar school music teachers from Muncie, Indiana. I like knowing that she took slower tempos--I knew what to expect--but it's hardly grounds for condemning the interpretation. I totally agree with A MUSIC FAN about the attitude problem, it's part of what's killing classical music.