Pianist Igor Levit is known for big concepts and virtuoso playing, but he has rarely been more epic than in this 2021 Sony Classical release. Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op. 87, fills two full CDs, and when they were premiered in the Soviet Union, the composer hastened to assure his already hostile audience that they could be taken in smaller groups. However, this isn't really true; the Preludes and Fugues are a single work, growing from the Bachian core stated at the beginning to incorporate a variety ...
Read More
Pianist Igor Levit is known for big concepts and virtuoso playing, but he has rarely been more epic than in this 2021 Sony Classical release. Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op. 87, fills two full CDs, and when they were premiered in the Soviet Union, the composer hastened to assure his already hostile audience that they could be taken in smaller groups. However, this isn't really true; the Preludes and Fugues are a single work, growing from the Bachian core stated at the beginning to incorporate a variety of influences, including references to other Shostakovich works. Of course, they are intended to enter the tradition of Bach and Chopin, but they have a highly personal quality that is mixed with the formality in a most unusual way. Levit's meditative, restrained approach puts across many details that hearers may have missed. For those wanting the epic Levit, he does well to pair the Preludes and Fugues with the 80-minute Passacaglia on DSCH of Ronald Stevenson, which is built around...
Read Less
Add this copy of On Dsch to cart. $44.10, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2021 by Sony Music Classical.
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.