Richard Todd wrote in part: >...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...Nikolayeva has recorded >it twice; the more readily available 1990 account on Hyperion (CDA 66441/3, >3 CDs) is probably the best version available.... As a prelude (no pun intended) to what I'm about to say, I have collected nearly every version of Shostakovich playing these works himself over the years, prior to the Revelation reissues. Although Todd waxes enthusiastically about Nikolayeva's version, in contrast I found them unbearable, and prefer Jarret. No one should pass up the composer's versions, however. Jim Hunsley