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Shostakovich: 24 Preludes & Fugues op. 87 / Jarrett | 
 enlarge | Artists: Dmitri Shostakovich, Keith Jarrett
Label: Ecm Records
Category: Music
List Price: $37.98
Buy New: $25.97
You Save: $12.01 (32%)
New (15) Used (7) from $12.70
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 88209
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.9
MPN: 437189
UPC: 028943718929
EAN: 0028943718929
ASIN: B000006MTX
Release Date: January 25, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item. CD, DVD, Book, VHS more than 400 000 titles to choose from. ALL days Low Price !
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 1 In C Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 2 In A Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 3 In G Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 4 In E Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 5 In D Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 6 In B Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 7 In A Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 8 In F Sharp Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 9 In E Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 10 In C Sharp Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 11 In B Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No. 12 In G Sharp Minor |
Disc 2
| • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.13 In F Sharp Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.14 In E Flat Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.15 In D Flat Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.16 In B Flat Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.17 In A Flat Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.18 In F Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.19 In E Flat Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.20 In C Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.21 In B Flat Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.22 In G Minor | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.23 In F Major | | • | Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: Prelude And Fugue No.24 In D Minor |
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| Customer Reviews:
 It doesn't get any better than this. July 13, 2006
D. M. Robinson (USA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I am not a music "expert" so you may take this review with a grain of salt. I know what I like and this is amazing. Absolutely beautiful. In my humble opinion, it is warmer, more nuanced, and less rigid than the Nikolaieva or Ashkenazy versions. This would be on my "desert island" Top 5 list, no question about it.
IMPROVISED CLASSICAL MUSIC June 12, 2005
Marius Nordal (seattle, WA USA)
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
All the great classical composers were great improvisors. Because of the constraints of the academy, one wonders if most of todays players could even fake "Happy Birtrhday".
We are lucky to have someone like Keith Jarrett alive in our own time. Since he is capable of actually improvising profound music, he seems to bring a liveness and spontenaity to this Shostakovich masterpiece. The first recording I ever heard was by Ashkenazy and even then I felt that something was missing. Then I heard the Jarrett version and it came to life! I'm sure any criticism by classical purists is just jealousy...this is perhaps like hearing a great musician/composer, such as Liszt, playing Chopin...or perhaps like Chopin playing Bach!
There are so many college trained "button-pusher" pianists around today that it is refreshing to hear the emotional vividness and luminous technique displayed by Jarrett in this recording. I assumed that these pieces would be dark and posess and dated, pre WORLD WAR II quality, but like the Bach pieces that inspired them, they convey all sorts of emotions that are beautifully realized by Keith Jarrett.
He makes the other versions seem like journeyman efforts that were played by pianists who had to seek out a teacher to told them "How" they should be performed.
 A great combination... May 16, 2005
G. Pajer
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
- Warm spring afternoon
- Shostokovich Preludes and Fugues
- Keith Jarrett
Jarrett's peculiar bright aspect works exceptionally well with the more lyrical, optimistic pieces, (most of them, I think). For pieces having that Shostakovich life-is-out-of-kilter feel the color contrast is striking, but it's odd and unsettling in the bottomless-despair ones (few are in this category). I think Shostakovich would be pleasantly surprised by the way these sound. On the other hand, Jarrett does miss some of the curled-up dimensions in these multidimesional gems. An interesting, refreshing, virtuoso reading, but by no means definitive as some corners are left undusted. Too much reverb in the recording space for my taste.
My pick from Jarrett/Ashkenazy/Nikolayeva January 15, 2005
Francesco Calegari (Evanston, IL)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
I own recordings of this work by Jarrett, Ashkenazy and Nikolayeva (on Hyperion). Ultimately it is Jarrett's version that I find myself listening to most often. My main gripe with Nikolayeva is that she can be excessively slow. Ashkenazy -- though technically strong as one would expect -- has a tendency to hammer out some of the fugues in rigid staccato that suppresses the natural lyricism of the music. The flip side as argued by another reviewer is that Jarrett is sometimes "mushy", but that seems a little harsh to me. Unless you have a very particular opinion on how these pieces must sound (in which case you can listen to them yourself) this recording makes a fine choice.
far and away the best, and don't give me no lip! November 25, 2004
Matthew D. White (Athens, Georgia United States)
31 out of 31 found this review helpful
Keith Jarrett himself must have expected wildly polarized reviews on his take of Shostakovich's preludes and fugues, and it's no wonder, as he is more popularly known as a modern jazz master.
As I have had access to a public radio station music library, I decided to spend a weekend comparing and contrasting the different recording of this Opus 87, with score in-hand, by Jarrett, Nikolayevna, and Ashkenazy. I rate Jarrett first, second place going to Nikolayevna, and Ashkenazy bringing up a rather indifferent rear.
Jarrett's interpretation seems to be most often panned on grounds that he "doesn't understand the music", which is sheer hogwash. Add this to the fact that most critics fail to state what are the prerequisites for understanding this music, and I suggest it's a lot more than understanding Shostakovich's "pain"; a rather over-romantic view of a composer who could and did write extremely emotional music, but also music with humor and grace. There's a lot more to Shostakovich than just "pain". Jarrett has obviously studied the pieces well, and plays each prelude and fugue with flawless technique and even daring interpretation that is notably original, the most obvious case being the C-major fugue being taken at what sounds like a *very* slow pace. But having access to the score, he's taking it at the specified tempo: 92-to-the-quarter, interpreting the "alla breve" by playing very legato. So why do the other recordings have it so fast?
Jarrett's A-major fugue shines like the sun; his A flat-major fugue becomes a giddy, but slyly understated dance. (I should add here that in the A-flat prelude Ashkenazy makes a rather shocking note discrepancy in the main theme that either passed a producer's ear or was mis-read in the printed edition.) The more somber pieces are played with respect and deep concentration.
Add to this ECM's top-shelf engineering that provides a realistic, deep piano sound, and you've got a five-star set in your hands.
The pieces were written for Nikolayevna, but her autumn-years recording seems a bit one-dimensional to my ears at times, and the dynamics are a bit narrow as well, although she obviously has played these pieces for a very long time and seems to have absorbed them to the point where her interpretations seem more introverted, if that is your taste. The piano sound is broad, though it has a bit more hammer sound than Jarrett's.
For Ashkenazy, I have nothing exceptional to report. The Decca sound is dry, his rubato doesn't work for me and almost sounds as if he is unsure of himself in places, and overall it doesn't seem to add any air of authority or authenticity. Add to this Decca's assertion that since Askenazy is Russian, his recording is the final word on it, which is pretty trite.
Jarrett gives a modern, up-to-date performance that I think will stand the test of time, while the Askenazy will ultimately be re-packaged as a budget set.
Go with Jarrett; the man who dares to play classical music that is absolute, stripped bare of tuxedo snobbery. He gives his all for this one, and it shows.
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