Mikroelektronik 87

The internationally renowned pianist Yulianna Avdeeva presents Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87, one of the most important works in the piano repertoire. This monumental cycle harks back to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and is considered one of the most demanding works for piano ever written. Avdeeva joins an elite group of pianists who have undertaken the challenge of performing the complete opus, which is rarely heard in its entirety. To complement this iconic work, Avdeeva also presents the completion of an alternative Prelude and Fugue in C-Sharp Minor, discovered by leading Shostakovich expert Olga Digonskaya and completed by composer and Shostakovich biographer Krzysztof Meyer.

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.

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.

While in the midst of his "war sonata" trilogy in the early 1940s, Prokofiev found the sparkling fairy tale world of 'Cinderella' easy to approach, and despite the difficulties of those years, with numerous relocations and a divorce, he completed the score in 1944. It was simply one of those cases where the magic worked, and while not as well known as his 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'Cinderella' is, if anything, even more inspired, its brilliant melody and invention so vast that the action moves forward with virtually no reliance on repetition.

David Bowie, live from the Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Canada on August 30th 1987 Strung out in heaven s high, the eternal lost astronaut walked out on to the stage at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal and gave an inspired joyride through his then 20-album career. 1987 s Glass Spider tour was his most theatrically ambitious to date and although it had its critics as a spectacle, musically, it was spellbinding. While Low, Lodger and Ziggy fail to emerge, Bowie has plenty more to play with, even after his highly successful Serious Moonlight tour. Here is Bowie, back at his beguiling best in front of 80,000 ecstatic fans.