Search - Dmitry Shostakovich, Tatiana Nikolayeva :: Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

Often slow and labored... and too expensive

hjonkers | The Netherlands | 03/06/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Tatiana Nikolayeva is considered the foremost interpreter of these works, but these are probably not her best recordings of the Preludes and Fugues. She made earlier recordings on the Melodiya label that are generally said to be technically better and equipped with more spirit than these 1990 accounts on Hyperion. As I've been informed, you can find that set on a new issue from the Regis label. This one, however, is far from ideal. Many of these preludes and fugues sound labored and heavy, and above all slow. She takes fairly everything at much more restrained tempi than the composer indicated; sometimes with wonderful results but often the music suffers of it. The humor in the E flat major prelude gets totally lost, for example, and the tension in the E flat minor sounds fabricated instead of natural. There's no question that she can also be staggeringly beautiful, such as in the sunny A major fugue or the A flat major prelude, but in the end the set's unevenness is too large. Much of the spirit in Shostakovich' music has gone here, and many fugues are played so slowly that they made me quite impatient. Additionally, her dragging takes often result in a very pounding, labored and tiresome sound, like in the G major and D flat major fugues. The muddy studio sound of Hyperion doesn't help either. So, in spite of many fine moments, this set is too unbalanced to get a really good recommendation. I'd go for Ashkenazy, who plays much faster, more vivid and natural and without Nikolayeva's too affected touch. Or maybe Scherbakov or Nikolayeva's earlier set, though I don't know the two of those myself. And, finally: you can get both Ashkenazy and Scherbakov at a much lower price than this set alone.



(To a few other reviewers: yes, it's possible not to like this set as much as you do)"

Bravo

Wayne A. | 07/04/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Several distinguished artists have recorded the complete Op. 87--among them Nikolayeva (3 times), Jarrett, and Ashkenazy. Richter has recorded about half of them and his readings are available on various CDs. Each of these artists has something important to say. It is easy to snipe and find fault. It is harder to listen attentively and accept each interpretation on its own terms. These pianists are the best the 20th century has produced. Who are we to sit in judgment of them? How many of us can play the piano? How many of us have studied--really studied--the scores? My suggestion is that we stop trying to show how smart we are and how many recordings we have heard and instead learn humility in the face of the many forms of greatness."

Sublime brilliance

David Morris | Vienna, Austria | 12/03/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tatiana Nikolayeva's recording is simply hypnotic. Anyone familiar with Shostakovitch will also know that he was a sensitive pianist, and Mrs Nikolayeva frames the composer's persona perfectly. She manages to identify and personify the romantic melancholy, the reticient joy and dramatic tension of Shostakovitch. Her playing evokes a kind of wordless poetry, transporting you to settings that are almost physical: a moody apartment on a gray day, a solitary contemplation on the riverbank, a stroll through an empty park, an afternoon in a sad cafe, the beautiful face of a stranger too shy to return your unspoken advances. Magical."