Shostakovich: 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87

Dmitry Shostakovich (Composer), Vladimir Ashkenazy (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy
• Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich
• Audio CD (June 15, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00000J9FL
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,949 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #74 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Fugues

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most wonderful traversal of this masterwork, March 6, 2004

By 

hjonkers (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

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

Since he turned his attention from piano playing to conducting, Ashkenazy has stayed away from the recording studio for some time, but in the last years he seems to be picking up his old career again. A good decision, as he never equalled his keyboard success with his baton. He finally set to recording the complete Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues, a huge undertaking, as he says himself in the liner notes: "You have to devote so much time and energy and concentration!" That he eventually took the effort is something that deserves only applauds, as this is an absolutely superior recording of this 20th century masterwork. Compared to Ashkenazy's earlier recordings (those of the Rachmaninov Preludes, for example) he hasn't lost anything of his old musical feeling and sensitivity. What is gone a little is the energy and risk-taking he used to expose. But then, this set of Preludes and Fugues doesn't ask for so much virtuosity as it does for musicality. Because of that, Ashkenazy's approach does full right to the work. Even more so than the famous Nikolayeva (that is, in her 1990 Hyperion recordings; I don't know her 1987 set), as the famous dedicatee of this work plays much too slowly and heavy for my taste.

If anything distincts Ashkenazy's recordings so much, it's the vitality and relaxedness he plays with. His approach is quite `clean': he doesn't impart much romanticism or overwrought feelings, and this is something I admire greatly: Ashkenazy makes everything sound very direct and intimate. And above all: everything is so `naturally good' (an ability he has always had). He focuses rather on the work's musical side than its emotionality, and does this very successfully. These preludes and fugues are mainly a great thematic and musical traversal, as another reviewer rightfully commented, after the example of Bach, and hearing Ashkenazy makes me wish he would record some Bach too (the WTC maybe?). Most of his preludes sing beautifully, while the voicing in the fugues is very clear and architectural. I've heard comments that he is just too clean at everything, or that he sounds bored; this is definitely not the case. I'd rather say that he often reaches some kind of a transcendence in which his own person doesn't count much anymore. Many fugues in particular have very meditative qualities and it's absolutely wonderful to hear how much Ashkenazy unifies his mind with the music at those places. I have to say that Richter does this even better in the few preludes and fugues that he recorded, but Ashkenazy is a very close second after all.

Most of the 48 works on these discs are simply immensely enjoyable to listen, just because of Ashkenazy's greatly clear and communicative approach. When comparing Ashkenazy and Nikolayeva, I noticed something interesting: the latter usually plays slower and less interesting, but even when Ashkenazy plays slower than Nikolayeva he sounds far more expressive. Additionally, he's often much more at ease. The truly wonderful B flat minor fugue is a good example: he takes more than seven minutes for this piece, but has you hanging to the speakers every single second. I've always thought he has some natural talent for playing anything beautifully and easily and that's surely the case here too. On the other hand: in the more lively pieces, like the A flat major, B major or G major fugues, he gives much fresher and more vital accounts than Nikolayeva who's just too heavy for the faster works. His light touch is generally wonderful, though on a few occasions I'd like some more dynamic differences: in the concluding D minor fugue the end is a bit too understated for me, for example. On the whole, Ashkenazy seems to fully get the clue of all of these pieces and performs them masterfully.

Overall, a great set that makes more obvious than ever how good this music really is. This is a set that just can't make me stop listening. Ashkenazy's lucidity and transcendence is really wonderful for almost every of these 48 pieces and sets the absolute standard for this work so far. Only Sviatoslav Richter surpassed it at times but unfortunately he didn't record all 24 Preludes and Fugues. This one is fully worth its place on my shelves aside Richter's Well-Tempered Clavier. I hope Shostakovich' Preludes and Fugues will get more attention among other pianists in the coming time, though they will have a very hard job in beating these interpretations.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Landmark in music, February 24, 2000

By 

Vidar Palsson (Garðabær, Iceland) - See all my reviews

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

Firstly, I don't understand how some reviewers can come to the conclusion that this set is worth one star. Like these pieces or not, this is not a performance on the low calibere of one star. Some might prefer Nikolayeva, which is great also, but it appears that some are with Nikolayeva (or rather against Ashkenazy) like this is a footballgame: everything other than your player sucks. I don't belive in that.

Ashkenazy's ability to bring the best out of the music is unquestionable. To me the sound is quite good and this recording is in most aspects on the highest standard. And for some people to review this one star because they find the music boring is redicilous. The reviews are about the performance, not the quality of the music as such. Therefore I'm not going to review all the Johann Strauss JR. recordings and rate them one star just because I hate that music.

Again, this is probably the best set on the market and I highly recommend anyone to buy it,(if one likes that kind of music after all).

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous playing, superior to Nikolaeva, February 14, 2000

By 

Derek R. Dreyer (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

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

There is clearly much heated debate about which recording of these wonderful pieces is the best. All I can say is that before I got Ashkenazy's recording, I was somewhat underwhelmed with the 24 Preludes and Fugues. The beauty of the music sustained me for the first CD of Nikolaeva's set (first 10 preludes), but I confess I never really could get into the rest. After having no trouble listening to Ashkenazy all the way through and seeing what beautiful music I had been missing, I went back to the Nikolaeva to see what the problem is. She's SLOW. Her tempos and general imprecision drag the music down significantly. Admittedly, Ashkenazy isn't very idiomatic, there's nothing special about his playing in particular. But he's clean and precise, and he lets the music breathe. I admit I'm biased, I never met an Ashkenazy recording I didn't like, but this beats Nikolaeva easy. Hell, it opened my eyes to one of the greatest piano works of all time. I can't comment on the other available recordings (like Jarrett) as I have not heard them.