24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
Twenty-four preludes and fugues for solo piano — one in each major and minor key, following the circle of fifths — composed between 10 October 1950 and 25 February 1951. Inspired by the 1950 Bach bicentennial celebrations in Leipzig where Shostakovich judged the first International Bach Competition, and by the playing of the young Tatiana Nikolayeva, to whom the work is dedicated. A direct homage to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, filtered through Shostakovich's distinctively 20th-century harmonic language, encompassing fugues from two to five voices. Nikolayeva gave the complete premiere in Leningrad, 23 December 1952. Total duration approximately 152 minutes.
Works in this Collection (24)
- Prelude and Fugue in C major, Op. 87 No. 1 No. 1 Key C major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in A minor, Op. 87 No. 2 No. 2 Key A minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in G major, Op. 87 No. 3 No. 3 Key G major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in E minor, Op. 87 No. 4 No. 4 Key E minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in D major, Op. 87 No. 5 No. 5 Key D major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in B minor, Op. 87 No. 6 No. 6 Key B minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in A major, Op. 87 No. 7 No. 7 Key A major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in F♯ minor, Op. 87 No. 8 No. 8 Key F♯ minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in E major, Op. 87 No. 9 No. 9 Key E major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in C♯ minor, Op. 87 No. 10 No. 10 Key C♯ minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in B major, Op. 87 No. 11 No. 11 Key B major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in G♯ minor, Op. 87 No. 12 No. 12 Key G♯ minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in F♯ major, Op. 87 No. 13 No. 13 Key F♯ major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in E♭ minor, Op. 87 No. 14 No. 14 Key E♭ minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in D♭ major, Op. 87 No. 15 No. 15 Key D♭ major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in B♭ minor, Op. 87 No. 16 No. 16 Key B♭ minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in A♭ major, Op. 87 No. 17 No. 17 Key A♭ major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in F minor, Op. 87 No. 18 No. 18 Key F minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major, Op. 87 No. 19 No. 19 Key E♭ major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in C minor, Op. 87 No. 20 No. 20 Key C minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in B♭ major, Op. 87 No. 21 No. 21 Key B♭ major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in G minor, Op. 87 No. 22 No. 22 Key G minor Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in F major, Op. 87 No. 23 No. 23 Key F major Difficulty
- Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Op. 87 No. 24 No. 24 Key D minor Difficulty