Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 07/24/2013, uploaded on 02/19/2014

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Notes from a Dame Myra Hess concert during which Tyler Wottrich played three Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich and Piano Sonata No. 9, Op. 103 by Sergei Prokofiev

    Though they are usually lumped together, the Soviet composers Dmitri Shostakovich and
Sergei Prokofiev could not have been more different.  Shostakovich, born 1906 in the wake of the Revolution of 1905, was often ill throughout his youth, partly as a result of the difficult financial straits of his family.  His music is often tragic and introverted, with intensely dramatic climaxes.  Prokofiev was born only 15 years earlier in 1891 into the last vestiges of the Tsarist upper class; his early years were characterized by the privileged unconcern of the aristocratic elite, as seen in his extensive diaries. Prokofiev’s music is ironic and usually extroverted, though refined. Their differences in personality and background led them to an indifferent, sometimes mutually critical relationship:  Prokofiev was somewhat dismissive of Shostakovich’s music, calling it “somehow unprincipled”; Shostakovich referred to Prokofiev as “a snob.” 

Prelude and Fugue in G Major, from  Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich

The works on this program are unusual and somewhat late works from both composers. Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, written 1950-51, are among the most rigorously structured of any of his works.  His use of the academically “elite” fugue structure excited accusations of “formalism” from Soviet music officials; “formalism” being a blanket-term for any music that did not support the populist aims of the Communist Party.  Though the Preludes and Fugues were indeed lampooned as the “grave consequences of formalist delusions”, it seems that their creation was somehow therapeutic for Shostakovich, and one can hear in them rare moments of emotional transparency.  The G Major prelude and fugue opens with a majestic and orchestral declaration, leading to an energetic and gigue-like fugue; the A Major prelude and fugue contrast this burst of extroversion with a more thoughtful manner, leading to a glorious fugue of chord tones.  The blissful end of the A Major falls into its parallel minor key with the Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, which finishes with a somewhat devilish and mercurial fugue .”      Tyler Wottrich

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24 Preludes and Fugues, op. 87     Dmitri Shostakovich

In the aftermath of World War II, Dmitri Shostakovich was officially denounced by his own government as the Soviets attempted to purge all Western influences from their artists. With this denunciation, many of his works were banned, and the financial blow to the composer was severe. Thus, his creative work fell into three categories: film music, which provided the composer with some means of supporting himself and family; compositions to regain favor with his Soviet overlords; and music “for the desk drawer,” as they became known—works by the true artist that had been suppressed by his government and quite possibly were never to see the light of day. It is in this last group that the 24 Preludes and Fugues, op. 87 is generally thought to belong.

The restrictions on Shostakovich’s creative output was somewhat lessened in 1949 when Stalin decided the Soviet Union should be better represented on the international stage and selected the composer to be one of its cultural ambassadors. The following year, Shostakovich served on the judging panel for the first International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig. One of the entrants was a young pianist from Moscow named Tatiana Nikolayeva, who was prepared to play any of Bach’s forty-eight preludes and fugues upon request. Nikolayeva was awarded first place, but more importantly, Shostakovich was greatly impressed and inspired by her playing. He returned to Moscow and began composing his own set of preludes and fugues. Shostakovich progressed rapidly on the work, spending around three days on each piece, and completing the entire set over a roughly four-month period. With each new piece, he invited Nikolayeva to visit him and would perform it for her.

Shortly after completing the 24 Preludes and Fugues in February 1951, Shostakovich, as was generally done, presented the first half of the cycle to the Union of Composers. It failed to win any sort of wholehearted approval, with the Union expressing dissatisfaction with the amount of dissonance and, indeed, even the use of the fugal form, which was considered too Western. Nevertheless, the collection was premiered in Leningrad in December 1952 by Tatiana Nikolayeva, and has since become one of the composer’s most well-known compositions for piano.      Joseph DuBose

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.