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/