Analysis of D-flat Major Fugue from Shostakovich's "24 Preludes and Fugues," Op. 87

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Richard Atkinson analyzes the D-flat Major Fugue from Shostakovich's "24 Preludes and Fugues," Op. 87. This is a fair use educational commentary that uses a performance/recording of Konstantin Scherbakov at the piano and a performance/recording of Michel Chapuis at the organ.

[@MasonIshida]

Please do more Shostakovich, this video was awesome!

[@mairaleikarte43]

❤️

[@CRCVDE]

Very nice analysis! But I think there is so much more to say about this piece for example that it has for sure 2 countersubjects perhaps even 3 but that's arguable. Also what is really cool is that this "3rd countersubject" if it really is one (the soprano part line in the exposition during the entry of the bass) is partially retrograded in the chords from bar 244 onwards. Also the importance of this very long G in the bass towards the end. This G is really and special moment since it is the only pitch left out from the subject (when played in Db) the construction of this piece is so amazing... One could talk at least an hour about all these fantastic details of this piece! :)

[@MasonIshida]

Also the beginning of the fugue subject is derived from the second theme of the prelude

[@Richard.Atkinson]

That's true - I forgot to mention how similar their contours are.

[@og6430]

This has to be one of the greatest youtube channels ever! I instantly subscribed after watching the video about three examples of Haydn's rhythmic displacements. These videos are a gift to humanity. Keep it up! Greetings from a German jazz pianist ;)

[@bri13wvu1]

Goodness what a crazy and genius work! One of the members of our clarinet quartet arranged this, and we worked on it quite a bit. It was extremely challenging, and exhilarating when we got it right.

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

It is also extremely challenging to play on the piano. I tried it many times but out of the 24 in the cycle this one will probably forever stay a closed book to me.

[@10mimu]

I like how free Shotakovich is with this counterpoint - some subject entries are octave or even chordal passages yet clear - not to mention the thirds and cadences.

[@hexpex5903]

Seemingly random picture of shosty holding a piglet is pure comedy gold

[@hexpex5903]

Thanks for giving a heart, by the way is it possible for you to make a video on mozarts fugue for two pianos in the future.

[@gracelee9437]

Lots of details, very slick presentation! Great work.

[@nicholaslatina4464]

I would love to see your thoughts on a fugue by Kapustin. A contrapuntal genius in his own way for sure.

[@ygoramaro5637]

Man, all your videos are simply awesome. Congratulations

[@technik-lexikon]

DSCHs op. 87 is a true secret tip! Most people know only his symphonies (or even just the 5th or 7th -.- ). I most like the raw contrasts between the 24 pieces (e.g. D-flat-major fugue vs A-major fugue) and the wide emotional range. Oh, and I just discovered that the prelude foreshadows the subject of the final d-minor prelude and fugue (in bars 7-9).

[@n7275]

Simply amazing. Thank you.

[@blainesnow1476]

Yes, more Shostakovich please!

[@CharlesAustin]

Phenomenal piece!! Thanks for your stunning mapping of this piece.!!

[@rudigerk]

Paul Hindemith's Luxus Tonalis also has a lot of nice Fugues, Please make a Video with one of these

[@rudigerk]

Ludus tonalis

[@chrisridenhour]

Wish I had these videos when I was in conservatory in the 90s. Better than any class I've had

[@mmarks4]

Last night went to a performance of the 24 by A. Melnikov. Very pulled in by the music. Now eager for some education on them, which I am glad to see you providing!

[@courtcomposer]

Bravo.. I wish I had you as a professor when in music school.

[@TOMMIVS]

The theme entries beginning with B-flat and E-flat would be "in the minor key", because there is a minor-third mediant in the third bar instead of a major-third one.

[@vrixphillips]

have you thought about doing some of the Szymanowski Fugues from the ends of his piano sonatas?

[@Harrytjuh66]

Great analysis! I would like to see a video about the fugue of Hindemith's 3rd piano sonata

[@andrearodigari4840]

I always loved this prelude and fugue. And of course Shostakovich and My beloved Bach.

[@klop4228]

I'm currently learning the A Major Prelude and Fugue from the same set. If I get ahold of a copy of this one, I may try and convince my teacher to let me learn this as well.

[@BeauJames59]

Get ahold of it, DO IT! You don't need anyone's permission to learn music you love.

[@klop4228]

Issue is that I'm currently working on a few things, and also if my teacher feels this one requires a higher standard than I'm at, then it's better to leave it until my standard reaches this.

[@harryrees627]

klop422 did you get to learn it?

[@gspaulsson]

I have the feeling that Sh. was constantly thumbing his nose at Stalin. There is that fugue of his that contains no dissonances: "you want bland music? here you are." Then his comical Ninth, when he was supposed to be celebrating victory with some monumental homage to Beethoven.

[@trethtower]

Thanks so much for this great analysis of one of the most astonishingly original fugues ever written. Terrifying in its demonic energy and sarcastic wit. I always remember first hearing it played by S. Richter, and trying to make sense of the chaotic feeling it gives on first hearing. I appreciate you drawing our attention to the Bach organ fugue, which I was not familiar with. Its fascinating to see how that music that Shostakovich absorbed from a young age could germinate into the D-Flat Major Fugue years later.

[@raufkasimov]

Thank you very much for your lovely and deep analysis.If you don't mind I'm going to post this video on Facebook for my students to watch.🙏

[@martinvaillancourt5962]

Hey Richard, love your videos, and I think I finally found someone as obsessed with Mahler as I am! I'm wondering what you studied in university? It's cool if you don't want to share, I'm just curious

[@Richard.Atkinson]

I started out as a physics major, then I switched to music composition major, then I went to medical school after undergrad.

[@csermenyizsombor]

I don't even understand why he uses various time signatures as they don't have any audible effects on the music... :D

[@Richard.Atkinson]

I've always thought time signatures were pointless in general. If you remove them, no information is really lost.

[@rabbibarrykornblau9877]

Whoa, that's a pretty big overstatement for vast swaths of 18th and 19th C classical music. The 1 2 3 of many dance pieces or the 1 2 3 4 of the marches, etc, is the MAIN point is many ways!

[@stiboh1]

I wanted to ask the same thing :)

[@Richard.Atkinson]

Yes, that's why there are barlines and bars on stems of notes. No real need for time signatures.

[@yaboibobby7776]

Well there might be no audible effect from hearing it, if you're not listening out for it that is. There are some composers who use the time signature for many effects, including mathematical effects. But since that's mathematical, I guess it wouldn't make too much of a difference audibly, although I do strongly believe math and music are closely related.

[@ArianSadrayi]

Fantastic job as always! ^_^

[@Chnarles]

Nice job on the analysis, but you missed a significant structural detail. The low G octave (the longest note in the piece) in the left hand of measure 255 is the note that missing from original subject.

[@Richard.Atkinson]

Can you explain this a little more? I'm not sure what you mean.

[@Chnarles]

Sure. It helps to think like a composer, especially at the time that Shostakovich was writing this. A lot has been said about the subject being "almost 12-tone". The first thing I did when looking at this piece was to figure out which note was missing from the row, as it were, and then see if Shostakovich was saving that particular note for anything significant. I scanned through the score looking for a big statement of G of some sort and there it was. To be sure, he doesn't literally avoid G until that moment, neither is this a 12-tone piece, per se. But perhaps you get the idea.

[@Richard.Atkinson]

That's an interesting thought, and I hadn't noticed it...

[@Chnarles]

Cool. I like what you are doing in your videos. Looking forward to watching more of them. I do an analysis with my composition students of Brandenburg 2 Mvt 1 that is similar to your fugue analyses, mainly to point out how many different levels Bach is thinking about. Maybe someday I will make a video of it but first I will have to learn Camtasia better. You're presentation style has upped the ante a bit.

[@SpaghettiToaster]

That's more like a curiosity, not a structural detail.

[@doc.g9497]

Hi Richard, great video as always. You present information in a very clear manner. If I could make a suggestion, I which you could make another Mahler video. I was watching your " the most beautiful passages in each Mahler´s symphonies" and i saw you focused mainly in the slower parts. Although I enjoyed the video, I wish you could talk more about the "bombastic" parts haha. One more thing, I sent you a private message about a month ago, I wonder if you saw it.

[@Richard.Atkinson]

I'm planning to make this video at some point! Also, 9 months later, I'm unsure whether I ever saw or responded to any private messages...

[@steve.schatz]

Wow. Ill listen to Shos with new ears now. Not familiar with these works. Tour de force. Thank you so much for our efforts, Richard.

[@christophemarois5423]

Incredible job, as always!

[@gwilymprice4442]

The original subject reminds me very much of the fifth piece from Stanchinsky's 12 Sketches, op. 1. The same composer's Five Preludes in the form of a Canon might be good material for a video as well.

[@louisvalencia5244]

Hi, i love your vids!! but i am too ignorant to understand the nature of fugue. I know the basics but im very bad at defining the different structures of the fugue. Can you recommend some books to initiate in conterpoint, pliss?

[@sophiagilmson7481]

Wonderful, Richard! Thank you so much. Would love to share with you my analysis.

[@ishagshafeeg]

Awesome. Thank you.

[@pseudotonal]

I love how informative you are in your videos. I've been fascinated with polyphony, canon, and fugue since childhood. I would be honored if you would do some analyses of my works. Start with my Chorale Etudes. I would be greatly pleased if you were to find the "Easter eggs" in some of my pieces.

[@Tizohip]

very good video.

[@BenMader10309]

Your channel is great!

[@torterrakart7249]

Wow that was amazing! As I said in another video I would like you to analyze the 3rd mov of the 7° string quartet of Shostakovich which has a lot of counterpoint. I also would like to see in the channel something by Hindemith, who, in my opinion, is the greatest counterpoint master of the last century

[@Richard.Atkinson]

I love the finale of the 7th quartet. It has an augmentation similar to the one in this fugue.

[@hadenplouffe3976]

No Godowsky?

[@wobblyorbee279]

7:53 this reminded me the chopin butterfly etude

[@diegokohn3132]

Thank you very much Richard for this richfull analytical and pedagogical video. I'm interested on analyse more this fugue. Do you know if it possible to find a PDF version of this Prelude and Fugue in D-Flat Major? I would be thankful for that. Thank you in advance.

[@TOMMIVS]

There is a russian source on the web, although I'm not sure if I can find it any more.

[@Maharani1991]

Incredible. Thank you.

[@paxwallacejazz]

I had no idea how much I like Shostakovich. Been listening to Hendimith fugues

[@lucasgust7720]

You chose a recording that has a wrong note in the bar 273

[@Richard.Atkinson]

I know... it annoyed me because that's an important part of the counterpoint (I even highlighted it) and it makes no sense how he played it. Still a fantastic performance though.

[@lucasgust7720]

@@Richard.Atkinson Richter's recording is the best I have heard so far

[@boyisun]

One of my teacher said to me, Listen to Shostakovich's fugues; that's what would it sounds if Bach has lived to C20th.

[@Lopfff]

Music theory nerds, are you with me? YESSSS

[@10mimu]

Very interesting. Could you analyze the fugue from Bachianas Brasileiras No.9 from Heitor Villa-Lobos?

[@Richard.Atkinson]

It's on my listening list.

[@_Chuvisco_]

How I inveigh your musical capacities, sir!

[@ArturoAlbero]

Intense!

[@somebodys7404]

Excellent material. Why did you choose this piece rather than any other from the 24?

[@GMahlerVerehrer]

Isn't the Fugue's subject a twelve-tone row as per dodecaphonism?

[@Richard.Atkinson]

Not quite, but almost.

[@GMahlerVerehrer]

Ah, ok, thanks. Great analysis of a great work!

[@YostPeter]

What a great video.

[@michaelfitzurka5659]

first class as always.

[@paxwallacejazz]

Those cadences add humour

[@rickytsang6665]

Awesome!!

[@brandonlingjennwenahs4127]

2:39 (start of fugue) 5:03 5:53 6:29 (whole)

[@reginaldocruz9958]

About Film scoring, its possible?

[@jackwilliamsopenyourmouth]

Did anyone else notice how the score goes from bar 111 to bar 220 in 9 bars?

[@Richard.Atkinson]

I stared at that score for hours while making this video and I didn't notice! Neither did the editor, so I don't feel so bad...

[@jackwilliamsopenyourmouth]

@@Richard.Atkinson Haha, you were focusing on more sophisticated details!

[@Mathi80]

Haha, and so, silly (brutal) tonality shall prevail!! (a theme prevalent in several of Schostakovich's works) The connection to the e minor organ fugue is intriguing, of which Shostakovich's fugue is a kind of deconstruction.

[@burakunsal7499]

wow you really need big hands to play through bars 256-260 starting at 6:07

[@TOMMIVS]

It requires using the sustenuto pedal (the middle one of a grand piano) which sustains the bass notes but not other notes.

[@danal81]

Great video. As for the composers.. Bach’s theme impresses in the way Shostakovich’s never will.. because it starts so detached from the Baroque epoch only to conclude in the tonal manner which is both amusing and impressive, while Shostakovich’s simply follows the idiom of the 20th century from the beginning to the end

[@sirdelrio]

Wrong notes at 6:16. He played F, F flat, E flat, E double flat. It's F flat, E flat, F, E double flat.

[@Richard.Atkinson]

I noticed this when I made the video (because it was annoying to me as well - especially because it is a fragment of the subject, but when he messes it up, it's not heard as such). I chose to use it anyway because this is still my favorite performance of the fugue.

[@paxwallacejazz]

Wow Shostakovich's Asymetry Racket

[@Tizohip]

In a while you'll be analyzing some of my music.

[@lucasgust7720]

Why don't you explain the harmony of this fugue? I'm tired of the analysis of the OBVIOUS.

[@StudiosecretsAtoZ]

quasi tonal at best. :)