Melnikov’s Shostakovich
Shostakovich: Preludes and Fugues, Op 87
The inspiration for Shostakovich’s amazing music for the piano resulted from his 1950 visit to Leipzig as a jury member of the Bach Competition. As a result, he was inspired to write his own Preludes and Fugues, music he completed two and a half months later.
In this music, the ghosts of the past mingle with the composer’s original musical voice to form a work of amazing content and variety. These pieces can be playful, enigmatic or profoundly expressive. And the Preludes and Fugues are a testimony to Shostakovich’s personal strength in the face of endlessly depressing and undermining political circumstances which took place in his country at the time.
Alexander Melnikov responds to all this with his own interpretive mastery and with a poetic expressiveness that is outstanding. He achieves a marvel of imaginative, delicate, and whimsical performances. His dynamic range is enormous; his pianissimo playing in particular is the kind that makes you want to catch every phrase.
Here is a video in which Alexander Melnikov speaks about and plays these Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues:
And here is the Shostakovich Prelude and Fugue, Op. 87, No 7 in A major
Tags: Shostakovich, Preludes and Fugues, Op 87, Alexander Melnikov