On DSCH -Shostakovich 24 Preludes & Fugue, Stevenson Passacaglia on DSCH : Igor Levit(P)(3CD)

Three CD set. On DSCH is a discographic tour de force by one of the essential artists of our time (The New York Times). That the self-styled maximalist enjoys pushing himself to his limits intellectually and physically is well known, but the present project two key cycles of musical modernism - puts all others in the shade. Completed in 1951, Dmitri Shostakovichs 24 Preludes and Fugues a summary of all the major and minor tonalities lasts some two and a half hours in total, while Ronald Stevensons Passacaglia on DSCH, which he completed in 1963, is an unbroken set of variations lasting nearly an hour and a half. The letters DSCH spell out Shostakovichs musical monogram using their German note names: DEsCH = DE?CB. The albums artwork is specially created by the internationally renowned graphic artist and book designer Christoph Niemann, who regularly illustrates for The New Yorker and The New York Times. His illustration for On DSCH offers a playfully abstract counterpart to this musical experience.