I guess no two of us are going to agree about everything regarding the Op.
87.  Donald Satz, while liking the Nikolayeva recording, finds that "the
preludes and fugues are very bleak and desolate pieces." I can't agree with
that, though the range of emotions they encompass might include bleakness
and desolation at times.  At other times I hear composure, serenity and
joy, to name but a few.  To me, the Op. 87 is the one place where
Shostakovich got beyond the anguished subtexts that inform most of his
greatest work and, for once, wrote the purest of music, a radiant
masterpiece.

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