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I am interested in learning Schostakovich's Prelude and Fugue Op. 24 in Dm. However, before I buy the music score I'd like to see a sample page to make sure I can play the piece.

Does anyone know where I can do this? I've done a google search and have come up pretty dry as far as finding Op 24.

Or do you know what grade level it is? How advanced? etc.

thanks.

There are 24 preludes in Op. 34, and 24 preludes and fugues in Op. 87. I do not think Op. 24 is a piano piece.

May10April :

You have your Opus number wrong. Shostakovich's Op 24 is incidental music to Vistrel, composed in 1929, for which the manuscript has been lost.

Regards,

But the 24th prelude and fugue in opus 87 is in dm, so that must be what you're looking for.

Having given them look, I think I could handle them without too much difficulty, and I'm not the most gifted pianist on the forum--if that helps.

Tomasino

The Shostakovich P&Fs are an amazing set. There are a lot of things to like in the entire set and many are easily approachable, though the d- fugue is a challenging one - likely the most difficult of the entire lot. The first section of the fugue takes a theme from the prelude and is a nice, straight forward 4-part fugue rendition of a very beautiful theme. Then the fun starts - just as you think the fugue is winding down a new theme enters - this a running 8th note pattern, which then gets treated to it's own 4-part fugue. Finally the first them re-appears and you're treated to a double fugue, in some cases with both themes in octaves. The re-appearance of the first theme, rather than it's nice, nearly reverential tones of the first section comes back in fff in full declarative octaves - all reverence cast aside for thunderous marches and peeling of bells. My Bulgarian teacher, who studied these during the soviet regime, described this fugue as 'symphonic'.
It's a great piece. I worked on it for a while last year and it eventually wore me down (mostly due to my limited practise time). I'm planning on working on it some this summer when I have more practise time.

good luck with it

Whoops! YOu are all right. I did mean No. 24. I knew that it did not feel right typing out Op. 24 yesterday. Sorry about that.

May10April -

Wow! Queries on Shostakovich rarely come up in this forum, so I was pleasantly surprised to find your post. It is wonderful that you want to learn Prelude and Fugue 24 from Op. 87. Unfortunately, I have never been able to find free sheet music online of Op. 87, and the only sample page I have seen is the first page of Prelude 1 at sheetmusicplus.com. Long ago, I finally broke down and bought the (expensive) 2-vol Sikorski edition.

In my opinion, owning the score of the entire set (even if you only are interested in Prelude and Fugue 24) of the greatest solo piano works from the second half of the 20th century makes it worth every penny....

Wow. Everyone has me so excited to learn this piece. I heard on the radio last night and I really liked how it sounded.

but since I can't find a sample page, I'm really concerned with it being too advanced. I don't know. I'll go to one of the many music stores this week and see if I can find it.

By the set. If the d minor turns out to be too advanced, there are plenty more to choose from!

I purchased the DSCH edition of the complete set at a much more reasonable price then the two volume edition cited above. As others stated, it's worth the investment. There's a lot of really interesting playing so even if you're not ready for the d-, you'll find something fun to work on.

May10April-

It's great that you got to hear it performed on the radio! That means plenty of others did, too!

It sounds like you are not really familiar with the Op. 87 set. It contains pieces evoking just about every possible mood, and can take you from extreme highs and extreme lows. My favorites are Fugue #1 , Prelude and Fugue #4 , Prelude #5, Prelude and Fugue #6 , Prelude and Fugue #7, Prelude and Fugue #10, Prelude and Fugue #11, Prelude and Fugue #13, Fugue #14, Fugue #15, Prelude and Fugue #16 (I don't have the words for Fugue #16...except that it always bring a tear to my eye each time I hear it...especially the famous early Tatiana Nikolaeva recording on Melodiya ),Prelude and Fugue #17, Prelude and Fugue #18 (the first Shostakovich pieces I learned how to play!),Prelude and Fugue #22, Prelude and Fugue #23 , and of course, Prelude and Fugue #24 .

In addition to that early Tatiana Nikolaeva recording above, more recent recordings of the set I recommend are the recordings by pianists Boris Petrushansky and Muza Rubackyte (a very refined player).

Congratulations again on wanting to play Shostakovich! I leave you with links below to his rarely heard/performed/recorded Suite in f-sharp minor for Two Pianos, Op. 6, which you might enjoy:

i. Prelude

ii. Fantastic Dance

iii. Nocturne

iv. Finale

I don't know what grade it is but the last few pages in particular are fairly advanced, certainly beyond me.There are several in the set though that are quite approachable even for modest talents.

Here's the sheet music Preludes and fugues op 87

Well, that doesn't look too bad. It seems challenging enough but not overwhelming. We'll see once I get my hands on it and start playing it.

The only thing is I have small hands and a touch of RSI, i can't handle four note octaves (not sure the proper name for those). So this may be too physically challenging.

Thanks!

Wow! I absolutely love the "Suite in F-sharp minor for two pianos" THank you so much for sharing this with me.

I am not familiar with Shostakovich although I've heard 0f him and a few of his pieces. But, I'm interested in learning more.

Have you played through Op 87. or at least most of the Preludes and Fugues?

I'm getting excited to pick up the music to be able to do so.

I'm sure that once I start playing I may have a lot of questions to ask.

I reserved a recording from the library before you brought to my attention these particular ones. The one I have reserved has a mizture of Bach preludes and fugues mixed in as well and doesn't list all of Shostakovich's Op 87. I'm going to look a little harder and see if I can find the ones you recommended.

If you have any other advice or recommendations I'm all ears!

Thank you for your reply. I am so pleased you like the Suite in f-sharp minor for Two Pianos. I think it is incredible, especially the Nocturne, and that first movement theme that reappears in the rest of the suite.

No, I haven't played through all of the Op. 87 set. Again, the only ones I can play are Prelude and Fugue #28. The other favorites I listed previously are the ones I intend to learn before I die, with Fugue #16 in b-flat minor(probably my favorite piano piece of all time, and the one nearest and dearest to my heart) highest on my list.

As far as recordings go, I have heard all of the commercial recordings of Op. 87, and the three I listed previously are my favorites. This is because I think they strike a nice balance between technique and artistic expression. (Too many pianists treat them like technical exercises and forget the world of feeling behind each one of them.) The Tatiana Nikolaeva recording on Melodiya (NOT the later, more expensive one she recorded with Hyperion) is very special. Although she has her detractors, and her technique is not as strong as others, and her tempos tend to be slower...the incredible feeling she puts into those pieces is what makes it special to me. I once listened to it in its entirety every single evening for over three years!

Sviatoslav Richter also recorded selections worth seeking out, and I think he was a very fine Shostakovich interpreter.

All of the recordings I mentioned are easily available online new or used, though I highly doubt you can find them at your library.

I commend you again for wanting to learn his music. Below are other compositions featuring the piano you might like:

Piano Trio #2

Piano Quintet in g minor, Op. 87

i. Prelude: Lento

ii. Fugue: Adagio

iii. Scherzo

iv. Intermezzo: Lento

v. Finale: Allegro

Piano Concerto #2:

i. Allegro

ii. Andante

iii. Allegro

Lastly, the excerpts below are not piano-related, but come from Shostakovich's Violin Concerto #1 in a minor(I recommend the rare recording with David Oistrakh and the Leningrad Philharmonic, with Mravinsky conducting), and which I include here because it is my favorite violin concerto. It is the last two movements with an extended cadenza in between.

Passacaglia

Cadenza

Burlesque

Hope you enjoy the music.

Wow, I am new to this forum and rather an amateur in piano playing. But I was very much delighted when I found this topic!

And I am a very huge Fan of Shostakovich´s Music, actually and even more delighted of the chance of maybe sharing some experiences with his music!

I wanted to ask you, DDS24P&FOP87 , if you can tell me, where I could get those rare pieces? I am always interested in getting to know new pieces from Shostakovich, especially for the Piano!

Many Thanks und greetings from Germany

I just discovered that there is a DVD of Tatiana Nikolayeva playing the full set of 24 P7Fs. Also included is a short interview.
Highly recommended

http://www.amazon.com/Tatiana-Nikol...mp;s=music&qid=1223089090&sr=8-4

fidelio1985 -

If you mean recordings, they are easily available for purchase on the Internet.

If you mean the sheet music, again, you can order them online. In this thread, timmyab was kind enough to post a link to the sheet music for Op. 87 earlier in this thread.

I was made aware of this DVD a while back, but thanks for reminding me. I remember seeing her perform live once in the Shostakovich Second Piano Concerto. I fondly recall how, during the lovely slow movement, she turned to the audience and smiled as she began playing that "restrained Rachmaninoff" melody.

I just found a promo trailer of this DVD wherein Nikolaeva performs Shostakovich's Prelude No. 17 from Op. 87!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meRIzh0P3ec