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Rating: Following my journey through Classical Music, I could not avoid addressing or discussing artists of the music that laid the foundation for everything our ears can listen to today. Analyzing the historical-musical period that is closest to my heart, namely the Russian Revolution, one of the figures who indirectly or through their own art dominated this fascinating era is Dmitrij Dmitrievich Shostakovich. This man is a clear example of a weaponless struggle, a kind of "secession" executed with creativity, against the Soviet government. At that time, his highly elevated productions were continuously censored due to the great diversity and modernist air they contained. Shostakovich's style and language are closely tied to romantic stylistic elements, particularly embracing the great emotionality and significant strides in the completion of avant-garde forms. Shostakovich represents the avant-garde indeed.
His early period, which begins with the composition of the first grand symphony at the age of eighteen, is precisely the period when he starts to "seriously enjoy himself" with the new tonal possibilities, even though he was not fully into twelve-tone technique. Many critics describe his music as "grotesque". The absolute freedom of certain elements obviously creates more pleasing and bizarre contrasts, always creating continuous "spannung" in the listener, with strong dissonances replaced by inexplicable melodic passages, and the use of well-known to musicians "picardy thirds" (when a piece concludes in a minor key instead of a more predictable major key... you can recreate the effect from there).
Speaking of this 2001 recording performed by Konstantin Scherbakov, it features the masterful piano works of this great composer, namely: the famous and rich 24 preludes, the Aphorisms, and the first elegant and varied Sonata n.1.
The 24 preludes on a first listen and initial analysis, resemble a lot in structure to the Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach. Indeed, although it’s a paradox, these two figures can be well connected, especially for one reason: both revolutionized their musical period.
Moving to a description regarding the musical elements and forms, one immediately notices the parallel to the typical baroque counterpoints, as the main theme is often presented by both voices, resulting in the creation of interesting fugues and continuous distant tonal leaps. These tonal leaps are the main characteristic of these preludes, rarely being prepared by previously used modulations, giving a sense of emptiness and instability. The use of different alterations in the same chord explains the presence of whole-tone scales or hints of continuous chromaticism. Regarding the rhythmic part, many pieces seem truly timeless, as they allow and give the performer the chance to decide the pace of the piece and the atmospheres to create, as if the performer had before them a "blank page". In the short preludes, sudden accelerations occur and especially the use of irregular groups such as quintuplets, sextuplets, septuplets (memorably, the septuplet that introduces the main melody in the second prelude). The excessive brevity of the various preludes should not make one think of fleeting and unthought creations, but rather of a dense set of contrasting emotions. Each page seems to never end, with the result that the duration for the listener in perceiving the pieces extends beyond their natural length; this is due to the majestic expansion of forms and possibilities.
Regarding Scherbakov's performance, it perfectly adapts to the meaning of the various compositions. The performance is nothing short of perfect, with a freedom in recreating certain spaces that blends with a certain rigor typical of 19th-century pianism. The winner of the Rachmaninov prize in 1983, he is particularly sought after in the field for performances of Russian authors, as he captures very well the spirit of their productions; for these recordings he was awarded in 2001 in Cannes.
The quality of the recording is more than good, perhaps sometimes overshadowing the details of the various pieces, yet encouraging listening to this disc at maximum volume, nonetheless an appreciable production curated by the famous Naxos label. Interesting is the series of such low-priced CDs with grand compositions.
The preludes in which all these characteristics are gathered and praised and elevated are: n.1 Moderato, n.2 Allegretto, No.5 Allegro Vivace, n.11 Allegretto, n.16 Andantino, n.23 Moderato, n.24 Allegretto similar to a hallucinatory waltz.
Thanks to this sublime music, at the end of this disc you feel filled as if you have completed a journey. I hope with this page I have managed to make you appreciate this "bespectacled genius".
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