Shostakovich - 24 Preludes & Fugues [Ashkenazy]This 2 disc set of Shostakovich's 24 Preludes & Fugues has been in and out of my disc player for the last two years [mainly out of course!], i'm warming to these pieces, and it's taken a long time, the first say seven i quickly warmed to, but the rest have taken more time, it seems a lot more time, i also have the set by Tatiana Nikolayeva [Hyperion], i've listened to this Ashkenazy set more though, supposedly each of the Preludes & Fugues were composed in order as they appear, so i get the strong feeling that Shostakovich was hot and creative with ideas when he started this project, but maybe started to run out of inspiration after a while, the whole 24 took four months to complete, certainly i feel some of the later pieces are more of a challenge to listen to [say 20 & 24 for instance], but there's a wealth of creation here, and something new to discover on every listen.
Vladimir Ashkenazy is now 73, he was born in Russia, these discs were recorded between 1996 and 1998, the 2 disc box front cover is nice, showing Ashkenazy leaning on the piano, with his reflection on the right, a nice black & white shot, which makes the colours [logo and composer] stand out all the more.
I listened to this disc over a few days, i think the whole 24 are too many to take in in one go, i really enjoyed 1, 4-5, 7, 13, 16 & 22 on this listen, disc 2 was a nice revelation, getting to know the less known pieces was very satisfying, but again i fall back on my two favourite Preludes & Fugues of this set, 5 & 7, both are fairly short, lasting less than 4 minutes each, the Fifth Prelude mimics a Glockenspiel in the right hand to some degree, sounding like a piano version of a telephone ringing at times [0:00-0:36], the telephone changes over to the other ear, now in the left hand bass [0:36-1:10], and the counter melody is now in the treble, and you can hear the beauty of it better, then it changes back in the reprise, and it's gorgeous [1:10-2:02], and it ends in a hesitating softness, the Fifth Fugue is a staccato study, nice and complex, all over the keyboard, notes spring to life and germinate all over the place, the Seventh Prelude is a sort of duet, left and right hand take it in turns to play, however the treble / right hand eventually 'speaks' all over the bass / left hand's turn, it's a very clever Prelude, the Seventh Fugue is probably the best thing Shostakovich did out of the whole set, starts off with such lovely chiming in the treble [0:00+], so when the left hand bass comes in [0:13+], playing the echo of the treble, it's just perfect, wave on wave of beautiful repetitions start and end up and down the keyboard, i must mention two turns of phrases that are just simply gorgeous [0:31 & 0:36], Shostakovich knows the perfect note to use to make your heart skip a beat, i can't stop playing this Fugue, and there's still other delights to be discovered in this huge work of 24 pieces.
Here's Fernando playing the Seventh Fugue on Youtube.
