Shostakovich - 24 Preludes; Piano Sonatas Nos.1 and 2

Dimitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)

Piano Sonata No 1, Op 12

Piano Sonata No 2, Op 61 

Twenty-four Preludes, Op 34 

Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Op 87 No 24   . 

Raymond Clarke (piano) 

This disc is an absolute winner, a real cracker.

I have heard Shostakovich played by a myriad of pianists, including the 'famous names', but, after hearing Raymond Clarke's performances, they can all be relegated into the second division.

The recording sound is brilliant, close, vibrant and it has a very exciting attack. The performances are legendary and superlative. I do not want to hear anyone else play these pieces again. These are the definitive versions.

I hesitate to say any more since I am limited as to what adjectives I can use to describe that which is of the highest quality.

I do greatly admire his performances of the Twenty-four Preludes. A very great deal of insight has gone into this reading or, perhaps, the pianist's instincts are so remarkable that it came naturally to him. He plays them as a set, a cycle, a unified whole and with the minimum break between movements and it all gels together perfectly. The tempi are very well-judged. The fast preludes are fast and enthralling; Shostakovitch's eccentricities are captivating and wonderfully irrepressible; the slow preludes never linger or hang around. In fact, it is this admirable belief that music should always have onward motion that I value in Clarke's performances. I adore the grotesque Prokofievian Gavotte and how wonderfully Shostakovich parodies this old French dance form.

He plays the G minor prelude faster than I would wish but, nevertheless, the performance works very well. The Piano Sonata No 1 splendidly captures the turmoil of this incredible score and yet the nervous excitement and expectancy remains. Written when the composer was just out of his teens it is clearly a young man's work. He is out to impress and find his own style and, consequently, uses several. I do admire his non-conformity and his courage to be a recusant. At times, the music is red hot, almost enraged. By contrast, the thoughtful passages are equally interesting.

Seventeen years passed before the Piano Sonata No 2 appeared in 1943. The opening allegretto is played briskly and all the ambiguous tonalities are brought out. This Sonata may not be wild as the first one is but it has tremendous strengths; it also has a few banalities but I often wonder if this is deliberate ... as if Shostakovich was making a protest but may make it both to be too long and tenaciously. He does the same in the opening movement of the Symphony No 7 with its march theme over a type of Ravelian Bolero accompaniment.

The second movement hints at Prokofiev's sardonic style and is a largo. Its 'sharp corners' and sinister bass line are magnificently captured in this truly unique performance. I have always thought of this anomalous movement as Shostakovich's self-reproach. It seems introspective and, perhaps, inspired by the weariness of the Second World War ... the weariness that pervades his final works particularly the String Quartet No 15 in E flat minor of 1974.

The finale is a passacaglia in which the extended theme is first heard in the right hand and what a catchy, easy to remember theme it is. It has a beauty and serenity that has to be heard to be believed, a performance beyond praise. There follows eleven variations and how remarkably Clarke reveals them; some of his nuances are ravishing in tone; his fingerwork, particularly in the staccato passages, is exemplary. His characterisation of each variation shows an uncanny insight and, with the score before me, all I can do is simply marvel at his all-round and unsurpassed abilities. The poignant adagio section may be too slow for some but, as with Beethoven, Shostakovich's metronome markings were suspect but Clarke does achieve the double-dotted rhythms to great and telling effect!

The Prelude and Fugue in D minor ends this impressive disc. I do not wish to sound feebly humorous but the Prelude is played so lovingly and sensitively that it is a complete revelation. The Fugue is not a big enough contrast to the Prelude, in my view. Shostakovich should have been more innovative. But the clarity of the playing is memorable.

I cannot evince the quality of this disc. All I can do is quote the Swiss composer Frank Martin when he said, "Some music and performances are far beyond what words can ever convey."

David Wright