Shostakovich: 24 Preludes & Fugues - Melnikov (2 CDs)

These twenty-four preludes and fugues have become so closely associated with the personality and playing style of their 'official interpreter', Tatiana Nikolaeva, that history has decided that that's the way to perform them without looking any more deeply into the matter. Yet this Op.87 is brimming with fascinating answers for anyone who takes the trouble to ask the right questions; and it is not the least merit of Alexander Melnikov to have approached the work from first principles and come up with his own, eminently musical solutions.