24 Preludes & Fugues: Ashkenazy

This recording received the 2000 Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra)."
Selections recorded in Winterthur, Berlin, Germany and London, England.
The Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 marked a turning point for Shostakovich. A second Communist Party censure in 1948 left him uncertain about his future, even to the point where he suppressed some of his work, most notably the great Violin Concerto No. 1, in the hope that the atmosphere would become more congenial. Then, in 1950, he was asked to serve on the jury of a piano competition held in Leipzig to commemorate the bicentennial of Bach's death. Shostakovich was so impressed by the playing of the winner, Tatiana Nikolayeva, that he immediately set about writing his own 'Well-tempered Clavier,' which he finished early in 1951, beginning a new creative phase in his career.
Vladimir Ashkenazy comes to Op. 87 having performed nearly all the Shostakovich symphonies as a conductor. He is well aware of the ambivalence and irony lurking behind the notes, while being mindful that the notes and their musical sense are what's most important. Though these are not virtuoso pieces, considerable technique is required to keep things moving clearly in the fugues, and in this aspect Ashkenazy is particularly successful. This is an important release, not only for the value of the performance, but also for its advocacy of a masterwork.