COMPOSERS: Shostakovich
LABELS: ECM Records
ALBUM TITLE: Shostakovich
WORKS: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
PERFORMER: Keith Jarret (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 437 1892 (Reissue (1991))
Keith Jarrett’s 1991 recording of
Shostakovich’s great Op. 87 cycle
makes a welcome return. He had
already recorded Bach’s ‘48’ and
Goldberg Variations for ECM: the
Shostakovich was a logical but
perhaps a more surprising sequel.
In fact Jarrett’s jazz experience
brings some unique insights into the
rhythmic profile of certain individual
pieces, especially the faster fugues. In
fact, his rhythms generally are very
alert and sensitive, aided what seems
to be his clear and rather dry pianism
– though this is rather nullified by
ECM’s soft-focused and reverberant
acoustics. He often brings out
crucial detail, for example in fugues
11 and 17, and the whole sequence
of preludes and fugues between
those numbers seems to contain
his strongest performances in the
cycle, with majestic shaping of the
architecture and a fine responsiveness
to the mercurial changes of mood.
So there are many things to
admire here; but there’s also a
deadening sameness to Jarrett’s
dynamics, which are stuck too much
in the forte to mezzoforte range,
and often a general feeling that he’s
quite some way from penetrating to
the heart of these pieces. In overall
quality I feel this set is comparable
to Konstantin Scherbakov’s bargainpriced
alternative on Naxos, but the benchmark comfortably remains
Tatiana Nikolayeva’s authoritative
Hyperion version. Despite her
sometimes ponderous tempos, she
simply finds so much more warmth,
humanity and profundity in this
music than does any rival.
Calum MacDonald