Shostakovich: Preludes & Fugues Op. 87 (2CD)

The internationally renowned pianist Yulianna Avdeeva presents Shostakovich's "24 Preludes and Fugues" op. 87, one of the most important works in the piano repertoire. This monumental cycle follows on from Johann Sebastian Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier" and is considered one of the most demanding works for piano ever written. Avdeeva joins an elite group of pianists who have taken up the challenge of performing the entire work, which is rarely heard in its entirety. To complement this iconic work, Avdeeva also presents the completion of an alternative 'Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor', discovered by leading Shostakovich expert Olga Digonskaya and completed by composer and Shostakovich biographer Krzysztof Meyer. Shostakovich sketched an initial prelude in C sharp minor in 1950, but then decided to compose a new prelude-fugue pair in this key, which eventually found its way into Opus 87. The sketch of the original prelude was found in the Shostakovich archives in Moscow in 2005; Krzysztof Meyer completed the fragment in 2019 and added his own fugue "in the style of Shostakovich". This discovery adds a new, exciting dimension to the cycle and will be an important part of the story behind the album. Yulianna Avdeeva has recently released the albums "Resilience" (2023) and "Chopin: Voyage" (2024), both of which received outstanding reviews for their exceptional artistry and interpretation.