Shostakovich - Prelude and Fugue in g# minor, op.87 no.12

[andhow04]

here is the mid-point of the Shostakovich preludes and fugues, the huge g# minor.

the prelude is in passacaglia form, one that he used often such as in the Trio, the violin concerto, etc. it has a diverse set of variations, beginning in fugal form, and is very orchestral in sound

the fugue is a mammoth four-voice fugue in five beats per bar, it is definitely one of the most difficult pieces i have ever played. you need an extreme amount of intensity and a well-defined marcatissimo touch.

as the fugue seems to be winding down, all of a sudden it "starts again" in double piano, eerily, with the subject cut short. in this final coda he adds stretto which is very hard to play.

this is my favorite prelude and fugue from the whole set. i play four total but want to add about three more. hope you like this piece, it is very special and VERY HARD


PS - somehow my microphone is not recording in stereo anymore, so i had to add a second track in audacity and amplify the whole thing. i need to buy a new personal recorder!

[cbreemer]

My greatest respect for playing this fugue ! It is not just very hard, it is a monster... a strain on the brain as well as the fingers. In the Op.87 set only fugue no.15 is more fearsome. IMO it is one of the most magnificent things Shostakovich wrote. I recorded this one in 2008 but it is not nearly
as smooth as your version, and marred by a lot of wrong notes and several fumbles. Back then
I was intending to complete the set but I stalled in sight of no.15 which I found (and still find)
too daunting. Great work on sailing through this one without too much trouble. The voicing could
be better in places (but god, it's hard in this one, even if you have played the complete WTC) and the recorded sound is not too pleasant. But it is good !

[andhow04]

thanks for listening to this, i am impressed that you were tackling the whole set, is your problem with no.15 reading it or playing it or both? i love the prelude to 15, but haven't wanted to put in the time to figure out all those ridiculous accidentals... apparently #15 was universally derided by the composer's union as well.

for me no.12 is the high point of the whole set. it takes a special technique to play, all this constant marcatissimo playing, and is def a strain on the brain as you say.

sorry about recording quality, i had just played this in some concert, and wanted to get it down before i moved to other things. i will revisit it later on and see what happens!

[cbreemer]

Indeed no.12 is the high point of the set, and one of the most impressive fugues ever written. Shostakovich really takes the candle from Bach in this great cycle. Completing this set was one
of my many foolish plans that got bogged down in practical problems. I find fugue 15 just near
impossible to read and understand, the challenge being intellectual rather than technical. Fugue 17
I find also very hard to bring off.