Recording of the Month
July 99
Dmitri Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, op.87
Tatiana Nikolayeva, piano
1991. Hyperion Records CDA 66441/3 (3 cd's) full price
There aren't many major works written for the piano in our century, atleast not if measured against the tremendous output of the 1800's. Nevertheless there are some composers who have left a legacy of major importance in our own time - also when it comes to music for the piano. Not only the "over the top" romantics like Rachmaninov, but also more modern and challenging artists make their voices heard. Bela Bartok and Sergei Prokofiev are examples, Olivier Messiaen and Einojuhanni Rautavaara are more recent ones, but most of all it is the great Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich who have given the world some of its finest treasures of the modern piano. His works for the instrument ranges from the fiery, massive and ragingly extrovert youthfulness one encounters in the 2 sonatas, or on the other hand the little, naive and ludic dances - up to the vast and encyclopedic work 87.
The 24 preludes and fugues are one of the works of music closest to my heart. It is one of those works in which I seem to find traces of everything, and I think no other work of art - musical or otherwise - describes the 20th century more profoundly than these wonderful pieces. Shostakovich came to write them in accordance with the 200th anniversary of Bach's death, in 1950-51. The two great books of the old master's welltemperd klavier, springs to mind, as do others of his large works for the keyboard, but Shostakovich holds his own ground in these pieces which are higly personal despite their formal appearance.
Tatiana Nikolayeva was an arist for whome
the 24 preludes and fugues were particularily close encounters.
Not only is she the works dedicatee, but she held a role of
advisor with the composer in the work-in-progress. I do not
believe that there are any others, with the exception of the
composer himself, who can, and indeed does, play these pieces
with such authority and clarity of interpretation. 
Personally I came to know this music through Keith Jarrett's enlightening recording on ECM, and I always expected the Nikolayeva set to be more inward and intimate than that of Jarrett's. It was thus something of a surprise to encounter her almost "symphonic" style of interpretation. There is a sense of grandeur and monumentality in her reading which I find quite compelling. I was at first put off by her performance of the first fugue, which is markedly faster than that of Jarrett, but on repeted listening I was fascinated by the new lines appearing, showing the architeture from a new angle. That aside it is the slow tempos that mark this remarkable recording, and adds to its monumental and profound reading of the work 87. I wouldn't want to be without the Jarrett set, however, since I first heard Nikolayeva she has been a clear first choice.
There are regretably few recordings made of this seminal work; why I don't know. I have only come across three complete sets: Keith Jarett's fine account on ECM and now Vladimir Ashkenazy's on Decca. I haven't heard the latter, but it has received some pretty good reviews. There also exists some incomplete recordings of the work, most notably those of the composer himself on Russia Revelation and of course that of Sviatoslav Richter (Philips). There also exists a second set from Tatiana Nikolayeva on Melodiya, which is, I think, a bit tricky to come across. I'm not sure wether it's still available, nevertheless this splendidly recorded set on Hyperion offers all you want in terms of the music, plus a little more than you want in terms of the pricetag.
(The images are taken from The Hyperion CD Booklet)
©1999. arne.mork@yahoo.com
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