Release Date: 04 November 2022
Label: Challenge Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 608917290721
Genres: Classical Solo Instrumental
Description
A new recording from Challenge Classics pivotal pianist, Hannes Minnaar. Following his Diapason d'Or account of Bach's Goldberg Variations, Minnaar confronts the 'Bachian' masterpiece of the 20th Century: Shostakovich's
Preludes and Fugues op. 87.
After Bach's Goldberg Variations, which won him worldwide honours (including a Diapason d'Or), Hannes Minnaar challenges and confronts what has become a 'classic' of the 20th century repertoire: Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues, composed in 1951. Here again, the qualities of his pianism, for which he is recognised as one of the leading musicians of our time, come under the spotlight: the diversity of touch and the suppleness between tension and tranquillity to characterise every Prelude and Fugue, the precision of tone, the lack of any affectation, a natural finesse in phrasing and articulation, and a familiarity with the score going hand in hand with a freshness that conjures a sense of improvisation. Here we encounter a new landmark in the crowded field of interpretations of this wonderful music.
"No one undertakes a recording of Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues lighltly, and Dutch pianist Hannes Minnaar engages an authoritative objectivity in running the ever-surprising gamut of moods in this colossal achievement. […] While the toccata brilliance of the minute-ish long A Minor and B-Flat Major Preludes is crisp and even, Minnaar doesn't stint on the violence either." – BBC Music Magazine (Performance 5 STARS; Recording 4 STARS)
"Minnaar's adroitness in the most virtuoso pieces is matched by his patient expressivity in the more brooding ones. He is prepared to take his time, but he does so judiciously, never for the sake of his own glory, always in sympathy with the music's humane voice." – Gramophone
Tracklisting
The Counterpoints
Narratio Quartet
Aart Bergwerff
Roberto Prosseda
Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Dejan Lazic, Jan Willem de Vriend
Ton Koopman
Duo Saraswati
Hannes Minnaar, Jan Willem de Vriend, The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra
Hannes Minnaar
Hannes Minnaar
Hannes Minnaar
