Ottawa Citizen - FINAL EDITION
Saturday, February 20, 1999           (c)1999

Preludes are pure joy

Ever since Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his Well-Tempered Clavier, composers
have been tempted by the challenge of writing sets of preludes and fugues
in all the possible keys.

The most notable results are undoubtedly Chopin's 24 preludes, though
others have made significant contributions to the literature.  Mario
Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Well-Tempered Guitars, op. 199 is a set of preludes
and fugues for two guitars.  If you've ever played the guitar, the very
thought of playing a fugue in E-flat minor will probably make you break
out in a rash; but clearly it can be done.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco's WTG, good though it is, can hardly stand comparison
with Bach's mighty 48, which is undoubtedly one of the supreme achievements
of our musical culture.

In 1943 Dimitri Shostakovich wrote a set of preludes in all 24 keys as his
Opus 34.  A new recording by pianist Johan Schmidt, available on Cypres
2622, is a real pleasure.

The pieces are short, mostly under two minutes, and demonstrate the
composer's vast range of stylistic influences.  But they always have a
tinge of the irony that we associate with Shostakovich, and most listeners
would be able to identify their composer with no trouble.

Schmidt does the preludes up with imagination and sensitivity, and there is
a straightforward account of the Shostakovich second piano sonata to round
out the CD.

On a visit to Leipzig in 1950, Shostakovich heard pianist Tatiana
Nikolayeva perform part of the Well-Tempered Clavier.  He was so impressed
that he went home and composed his own 24 Preludes and Fugues, op. 87 for
her.  It is the only work of its kind that can bear comparison with Bach's
masterwork, and it bears the comparison very well indeed.

There have been no recent recordings of the entire set, though pianist
Keith Jarret recorded it a few years ago.  Nikolayeva has recorded it
twice; the more readily available 1990 account on Hyperion (CDA 66441/3,
3 CDs) is probably the best version available.

There is a natural authority to her interpretations.  The composer
consulted her daily while he was writing it.  It must have been an exciting
time for both of them.  This is music as pure and good as music gets.  It
is universal in a Bach-like sense.  One hears none of the bitterness or
black humour that is ubiquitous in the rest of Shostakovich's work.  Here,
everything is noble, beautiful and wise.

Most listeners, coming to the music cold, would not guess that it is by
Shostakovich.  No one would imagine it being by Bach either, though that
composer's influence is unmistakable.  There is no self-conscious modernity
to the music.  It might not be apparent to the casual listener that it is
from this century, though it avails itself liberally of the expansions to
the vocabulary of music that have taken place since Bach's time.

How can words express the wonder of this music? We might talk about the
majesty of the counterpoint, the magnificent architecture of the fugues in
particular.  We might ponder the vast range of emotions expressed by these
24 preludes and fugues.

Or we might cite particular examples.  The tender and contemplative Prelude
in G is a perfectly matched with its associated fugue, a wistful piece of
mighty construction.  The achingly beautiful Fugue in B minor, another
example of superb contrapuntal architecture, is followed by a sparkling
Prelude in A which gives way to a fugue so fresh and radiant that one can
imagine it being played in Heaven, on the most beautiful of summer
mornings.

But words won't do.  The music's the thing and, expensive though this set
is, its rewards are beyond price.

Richard, who invites you to visit his music, outdoors and other WWW sites
at: http://infoweb.magi.com/~richard/