Chopin vs. Shostakovich

ABOUT

What is a prelude and why does it appear so often in two dozen? Johann Sebastian Bach was the first to think of using all twelve notes of the chromatic series, each in major and minor. Previously, this was not even possible because of the uneven tuning. Bach's cycle of preludes and fugues, Well-Tempered Piano, in which all the keys are successively alternated, was considered the foundation of piano instructional literature and was a model for successive generations of pianists and composers. Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) conceived of preludes as a free form: some are only a few bars long, others more substantial; some are delicate little drawings, others serious motifs, some dominated by melody, others by virtuosic passages. 

Programme and performers 

Fréderic Chopin
24 Preludes for Piano, Op. 28

Dmitri Shostakovich
24 Preludes for Piano, Op. 34

Preludium č. 1 C Dur - Agitato (Chopin), Moderato (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 2 a moll - Lento (Chopin), Allegretto (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 3 G Dur – Vivace (Chopin), Andante (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 4 e moll – Largo (Chopin) , Moderato (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 5 D Dur – Allegro molto (Chopin), Allegro vivace (Šostakovič)

Preludium č 6 h moll - Lento assai Chopin), Allegretto (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 7 A Dur- Andantino (Chopin), Andante (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 8 Fis moll – Molto Agitato (Chopin), Allegretto (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 9 E Dur – Largo (Chopin) , Presto (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 10 cis moll – Allegro molto (Chopin), Moderato non troppo (Šostakovič)

Preludium č 11 H Dur - Vivace (Chopin), Allegretto (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 12 gis moll - Presto (Chopin), Allegro non troppo (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 13 Fis Dur – Lento (Chopin), Moderato (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 14 es moll – Allegro(Chopin) , Adagio (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 15 Des Dur – Sostenuto (Chopin), Allegretto(Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 16 b moll - Presto con fuoco (Chopin), Andantino (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 17 As Dur - Lento (Chopin), Largo (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 18 f moll – Allegro molto (Chopin), Allegretto (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 19 Es Dur – Vivace (Chopin) , Andantino (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 20 c moll – Largo (Chopin), Allegretto furioso (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 21 B Dur - Cantabile (Chopin), Allegretto poco moderato (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 22 g moll – Molto agitato (Chopin), Adagio (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 23 F Dur – Moderato (Chopin), Moderato (Šostakovič)

Preludium č. 24 d moll – Allegro appassionato (Chopin) , Allegretto (Šostakovič)

Konstantin Lifschitz – piano