Shostakovich prelude and fugue in d flat

[jehangircama]

Hi
I need info about Shoastakovich's Prelude and Fugue in D flat op 87 no.15. How long is it? who's recordings are good for shostakovich? what are the technical challenges of the piece, is it relatively easy to pick up within about 6 months of intermittent pracitice?
thanks
jehangir

[femmefatale]

I am  huge fan of the Preludes and Fugues.
They were written for Tatiana Nicolayeva - and you can get a recording of her playing them.
Other recordings I have of them are Ashkenazy (quite a "romantic" interpretation) and Keith jarrett (a little bit cold and clinical for my liking). I also have a recording ny Sherbakov which I really like.

I don't know this particular P & F in detail - sorry I can't be of more help!

[desordre]

 Dear Jehangircama:
 Nikolayeva rules! 
 About the time you need to master it, it depends: what is the rest of your repertory?
 Best wishes!

[jehangircama]

i've worked on a few beethoven sonatas, done moonlight and op 10 no.1 to a reasonable level and worked on the appasionata quite a bit, have done the kv 331 and kv 545 mozart sonatas and played a bit of chopin recently (some waltzes, op 40 no.1 polonaise, FI, looking at the 1st ballade) i was wondering whether this would be a good post romantic piece for my atcl exam, so needed to do some background work as i've only played one shostakovich piece and that was for my grade 5 exam some time back. but i'd heard that this was a nice set of pieces so wanted to check it out.

[sharon_f]

It is by far the most difficult technically of the set, especially the fugue which is extraordinarily dense in texture, lots of stretto. It is considered a true "virtuoso" work. If you have an advanced technique it shouldn't be a problem to get it up to performance level in 6 months. I'm not sure about what you mean by "intermittent practice," though.

I like Ashkenazy's set, but the Scherbakov is not bad if you are budget minded.

[jehangircama]

which edition is good, sheetmusicplus had some russian bk i think. i'd like to attempt it at least. is there an mp3 anyone knows of?

[jehangircama]

btw how long is it?

[femmefatale]

I don't think you'll find an mp3 of it as Shostakovich's music is heavily copyrighted.

As far as editions are concerned - try the Sikorski edition. (Really clear, nicely produced, but there is no editorial blurb).

It comes in 2 sets (1-12, 13-24) - well worth the investment. I play at least one Prelude and Fugue every day! Love them!

[femmefatale]

Have just played through the one you suggest.
The prelude is fun - a bit mad in places - very Shosta!
The fugue is very complex!

What about number 16?

[jehangircama]

i'm planning to look at no. 15 only atm (once i get the bk) coz that's in the atcl list and i was considering working on it for 07. couldn't get it done this year. again, how long is the p&f ? about 5-6 mins?