Dmitri Shostakovich Op.87 Preludes & Fugues w/ Monocarpics - 22nd April 2026

Some are playable for an average pianist, some of the preludes anyway. The fugues, a lot harder. I tried, it remains my ambition. Shostakovich wrote his Op.87 in just 3 months. A masterpiece of staggering complexity, & shows his ferocity, darkness, humour. The Soviet Union's Union of Composers didn’t like it of course.
“It didn’t feel like I was playing someone else’s music.. the pieces are coming from some strange quirky place that I’m familiar with.” Keith Jarrett (see Preludes No.8 and No.13).
“One might go so far as to say that [Op.87] places him among the supreme composers in any phase of Europe’s history. Listen and you will hear.” Wilfrid Mellers (musicologist).
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/your-specialist-subject-ii/episodes/your-specialist-subject-ii-dmitri-shostakovich-op87-preludes-fugues-w-monocarpics-22nd-april-2026