Shosti Op. 34

I played three of these preludes for my piano jury/audition for the performance program. Shostakovich has always been a favorite of mine. I had an odd childhood in that I was exposed to an eclectic mix of music. My maternal grandfather has always loved Shostakovich, ergo dear little Shosti was part of the mix.

I can't say that I enjoyed #21. For one, I didn't truly understand the character of the piece until two days before I was supposed to perform it. The piece is something like a very confused march/waltz. It's in 5/4 time, with shifts between 2+3 and 3+2. I couldn't find this on Youtube, so find a recording for the full effect. At first, I thought it was a charming parody of a schmaltzy Viennese waltz. Like if Strauss had gotten totally smashed before he had composed "On the Beautiful Blue Danube." Though, the more I listened and played, the more "off" it started to sound to me. In reality, it's almost macabre. It reminds me of a circus freak show. One is supposed to laugh at the incredible weirdness of it all, but doesn't really want to do so. It's uncomfortable. The meter is constantly shifting, and there are several places where the melody becomes very chromatic and slinky, and it's all mushed under the pedal, per the request of Shostakovich. It's sort of disgusting, actually.

#22 I enjoyed more, one reason being that I understood the character. Listen here. I don't have anything to say about it, really. It's just sad. It's tension, contracting and uncontracting, over and over, what feels like a million times over the course of the two pages. (One quick thing--listen to the four chords around 2:00. It's one of the coolest progressions I've ever heard.) The beginning few lines are particularly lovely, beautiful contrapuntal melodies. Then the bass takes the melody in what would be a gorgeous cello line, if played on a cello. The whole piece is a nice contrast to the previous prelude, if only because I like this one and not the other.

My professor assigned me #14 towards the middle of the semester. He had decided that I needed one more to play for my audition. Listen here. The prelude is one page long, literally six lines of music. It's also the most emotionally exhausting piece I've ever played. More than ever, I am convinced that no person can convey despair like a Russian. This piece is the musical equivalent of Anna Karenina desperately throwing herself under a moving train in Tolstoy's novel. It's literally a waltz/dirge. Except that it's played at such a slow tempo, you can hardly hear the 3/4 time. The piece is marked "pesante" in the beginning, which translated means "heavy." It more conveys a tone of voice at the piano. Or rather, a lack of voicing. The opening chords are sort of dropped into the bass register with no regard for how ugly the sound is when one plays in that way. Then the accented E-flats come in, wailing away. By the time the climax of the piece is reached, there's no regard for inflection, even. One just bangs out the music until the end, where it decrescendos to something akin to soft sobbing.