“Polyphonic Dialogues” = SHOSTAKOVICH: From 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87: Nos. 2, 4, 7, 12, 15; RODION SHCHEDRIN: Basso Ostinato; From 13 Preludes and Fugues: Nos. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 14, 19; Toccatina-Collage – Joachim Kwetzinsky, p. – 2L

by | Apr 15, 2010 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews | 0 comments

“Polyphonic Dialogues” = SHOSTAKOVICH: From 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87: Nos. 2, 4, 7, 12, 15; RODION SHCHEDRIN: From Two Polyphonic Pieces: Nos. 2: Basso Ostinato; From 13 Preludes and Fugues: Nos. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 14, 19; From 25 Polyphonic Preludes: No. 12: Toccatina-Collage – Joachim Kwetzinsky, piano – 2L multichannel SACD 63, 1 hr.  (Distr. by Naxos) [4/27/10] ****:

Rodion Shchedrin is now regarded as probably the leading Russian composer, so more of his music is appearing on disc recently. This is an interesting release in matching some of the Preludes and Fugues he composed, which were stimulated by Shostakovich having composed his series of Preludes and Fugues which were inspired by the Preludes and Fugues in the different keys by J.S. Bach.  I once interviewed Shchedrin but was unaware of his very close connections to Shostakovich. Shchedrin’s father was Shostakovich’s secretary, and although Shchedrin was never actually a pupil of the older composer, he looked up to him as a model from the age of nine.

Shchedrin began writing his first set of 24 Preludes and Fugues in 1951 after having heard Shostakovich perform his own set. Both composers organized their pieces around the circle of fifths instead of doing them chromatically as had Bach. While Shostakovich’s pieces are influenced by Russian folk music and mostly quite tonal and melodious, those of Shchedrin make more use of modern atonality and both strong rhythms as well as passages without measured pulse.

The program opens and closes with two separate Shchedrin works, the Basso Ostinato (which title well-describes the piece), and the closing Toccatina-Collage. The latter is a romp thru various familiar Bach quotations that clearly fits the collage appellation. The spirit of fun in this piece especially points up the similarity between Shchedrin and Shostakovich in sharing a sort of very Russian sense of humor.  The rest of the program is arranged in groups of a pair of Preludes and Fugues by one composer, alternating with a pair by the other composer.  The connections are often interesting, though there is never any doubt which composer one is hearing. Shchedrin’s Fugue No. 19 in E Flat Major is so rapid and machine-gun-like that it sounds close to Conlon Nancarrow’s player piano works.

Kwetzinsky sails thru the often difficult works with ease and 2L’s surround sonics are, as usual, first rate. This is not one their audio-only Blu-ray + SACD releases, but as I’ve indicated I can’t tell the difference anyway.

— John Sunier

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