Customer Reviews

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos; 3 Fantastic Dances; 5 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is delightful to have these definitive recordings of the two Shostakovich Piano Concertos available now at a mid-line price in EMI's "Great Recordings of the Century" series. A full-price version of these same recordings continues to be available in the "Composers in Person" series (which I unfortunately recently bought). Rarely in classical music do we get to hear well-recorded performances straight from the baton, or in this case the fingertips, of the composer. Well here we do, with Andre Cluytens conducting the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise with Shostakovich himself on piano (Ludovic Vaillant performs the trumpet on Concerto No. 1 as well). An added treat is Shostakovich performing some of his works for solo piano, "Three Fantastic Dances, Op. 5" and five of the "Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87." Despite the fact that these are late mono recordings (made in 1958), they sound nearly as good as vintage stereo performances from the same time period. It is a wonderful reissue, and even better at a cheaper price.

It's always a joy to hear a composer's own interpretation of his music. In the case of the great Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich, getting to hear him play his own piano concertos as well as several Preludes and Fugues is nothing short of breathtaking.
While the recordings on this disc (dating from 1958) are in Mono, they sound fantastic and the remastering is stunning. In fact, it is such a clear recording, you would almost think it was stereo.
Shostakovich's piano playing is jaw-dropping throughout this disc especially on the two concertos. You can hear the seriousness and the contrasting humor in both of these works as well as serene romanticism.
The "Three Fantastic Dances" and the five "Preludes and Fugues" which follow show off Shostakovich's superb solo piano technique and are definitive authentic performances of these works. It's a shame that although Shostakovich performed all 24 Preludes and Fugues himself in concert, he never recorded all 24. It would've been awesome had he done so.
Definitely, this CD is a must for anyone's Shostakovich collection. It's a rare opportunity to hear Shostakovich as a performer and in excellent quality sound. This is truly an historic album and with the 100th anniversary of his birth still being celebrated even after the passing of 2006, I cannot think of a better way to celebrate than with this CD.

DDS was a masterful pianist, and while he was beginning to lose the full power of his right hand, you wouldn't notice it here (maybe in the Fantastic Dances). His playing is straightforward, not too quick or slow, loud or soft, but utterly hypnotic and thrilling at the same time. If you listen to this recording enough it will become the standard by which you judge other Shostakovich players.

The concerti both demand unbelievably close coordination between soloist and conductor--which is achieved here. The trumpet soloist in the first is also excellent (Ludovic Vaillant). The fantastic dances are light but not precious. They could have been omitted and replaced by more of the preludes and fugues with no real loss. DDS played the five preludes and fugues here perfectly. It is a shame that only five of the 24 appear here, but they are jewels. I have Nikolayeva's Hyperion recording, Scherbakov's on Naxos, and Jarrett's odd and interesting version, which are all insightful and engaging. But to hear DDS's own interpretations--you will not forget his playing.

For the concerti and the preludes and fugues, this recording is both a historical document and a collection of powerful performances. For 12 bucks it's a must have for all DDS listeners.

This CD is truly amazing. Can you imagine if Beethoven himself was recorded in a similar fashion? The second movement from the piano concerto is sublime. What is the mood of the piece? It's hard to tell. It's as enigmatic as the man himself. All I know is that I'm glad this very talented man was alive when our recording technology was more than adequate to capture all the feeling in his works. 5 stars.

Much can be said about the concertos and dances, however I will only review the preludes/fugues. Having heard the complete preludes and fugues as played by Scherbakov I can hear a tremendous difference between the great composer's playing and a great virtuoso. The level of intensity and pathos in the Eminor and Dminor fugues is breathtaking. It is played well by the virtuoso, but when performed by the writer, whose playing is not at all perfect, the pieces are at another level. I compose pieces at the piano and know enough about performance by a composer and the interpreters to know that it can never be exactly similar. Shostakovich plays these pieces as he felt and wrote them, not to the letter of the score as perhaps he makes some mistakes but absolutely true to the subjective values of his work. I only wish we had the complete preludes and fugues on record as played by the master. The sound is less than perfect on this cd but this in no way detracts from the pleasure one gets upon listening to a composer play his compositions.

Dmitri (not Dmitry as shown in the listing) Shostakovich was one of the 20th century's greatest composers. In his early years, he was also a phenomenal pianist. Here we have the opportunity of hearing some of his finest efforts in both realms. I gave the disc four stars only because Shostakovich was past his prime as a pianist when the recording was made (he was suffering from a painful malady to his right hand), and the fact that this is a mono recording (but a fine one at that). Nevertheless, his performances of the two concerti are breathtaking (flubs and all). If you truly appreciate the importance of this man in the history of music, you will want this disc for your collection. Nowadays it is difficult to find any decent copies of his early efforts. A must have for those who love Russian music.