Review - 2016 Hong Kong Arts Festival - Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues, Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, 19 March 2016

24 Preludes and Fugues, Op 87 (Shostakovich)
Alexander Melnikov (Pianist)

Performing the whole set of Shostakovich's preludes and fugues in live was a herculean task both physical and technical wise. Despite in duration the concert lasted nearly three and half hours long, the evening was a revelation of one of the composer's more complex and introvert creation. Melnikov devised the concert into three parts by chronological order. The first group, nos 1-12, tended to be experimental, unexpected and lighthearted. Atmospherically varied from a masculine like thick structured prelude (no 6), dreamlike lullaby in the A major prelude (no 7), rhythmically tricky fugue in B major (no 11) to the scene of tempest of the G-sharp minor fugue (no 12). The theme of the first prelude made an example of the unexpected, which harmonically the C major theme from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier turned into dissonance passages before gradually returned to the calm and tonal opening.

The following group, nos 13-16, turned more inward and expressive on emotions. It was difficult to imagine the tenderness and lyricism in F-shape prelude and fugue (no 13) would progress into sarcasm, enigma and stormy chaos in the D-flat major fugue (no 15). The humour and progressive stance of the first group, playing with tricky rhythmic patterns and sometimes unusual sound textures like parallel octaves, were no longer there. Instead, it was moody and even strange at times how the music had developed, including the use of twelve tones out of the blue. In the last set, no 17-24, the composer gradually looking back into the orthodox church chants as basis for development. Patterns might be conventional but again turned into something different each time harmonically. The image became dream like and even surreal towards the end. Only the last one in D minor the music became very intense again to push for the ultimate climax in conclusion. It was also a statement that Russian traditional religious chants could become complex and intellectually sophisticated evolved like Bach fugues. The composer had found the voice, expressing his beliefs and discontent at the same time without reservation.

Since I sat in front of the pianist throughout the evening, one was captivated by his facial expression and the focus. Melnikov had a good touch in dynamic and wonderful sense how to phrase the music, not to mention the challenge to remember shaping all 48 sets of music in different forms and evolvements with directions. His concentration in the first group was at best and interestingly I remembered the sheer impact of momentum particularly when he built up the levels of crescendos. He was never aggressive even at loud moments or rhythmically challenged moments. The execution in transitions were always refined and the produced tone was appropriate to reflect the style of the music. Inevitably tiredness sunk in at the later groups and occasionally one could feel the physical demand and concentration fading away. Sometimes the playing was lost in shape for brief moment and even wrong notes happened as the pianist struggled for a fraction to archive what he wanted but the reaction was too late. I did not think pity though as it was an emotional journey and musical revelation of the composer's more intimate work after the symphonic ones. It could still have the depth and body of sound world even on a sole piano, not to mention the amazement how a simple religious chant could turn in sophistication musically.