Three CD set. On DSCH is a discographic tour de force by "one of the essential artists of our time" (The New York Times). That the self-styled "maximalist" enjoys pushing himself to his limits - intellectually and physically - is well known, but the present project - two key cycles of musical modernism - puts all others in the shade. Completed in 1951, Dmitri Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues - a summary of all the major and minor tonalities - lasts some two and a half hours in total, while Ronald Stevenson's Passacaglia on DSCH, which he completed in 1963, is an unbroken set of variations lasting nearly an hour and a half. The letters DSCH spell out Shostakovich's musical monogram using their German note names: D-Es-C-H = D-E♭-C-B. The album's artwork is specially created by the internationally renowned graphic artist and book designer Christoph Niemann, who regularly illustrates for The New Yorker and The New York Times. His illustration for On DSCH offers a playfully abstract counterpart to this musical experience.
1 Hostakovich Preludes & Fugues for Piano (24), Op. 87
2 Igor Levit (Piano)
3 Prelude No. 1 in C Major
4 Fugue No. 1 in C Major
5 Prelude No. 2 in a Minor
6 Fugue No. 2 in a Minor
7 Prelude No. 3 in G Major
8 Fugue No. 3 in G Major
9 Prelude No. 4 in E minor
10 Fugue No. 4 in E minor
11 Prelude No. 5 in D Major
12 Fugue No. 5 in D Major
13 Prelude No. 6 in B minor
14 Fugue No. 6 in B minor
15 Prelude No. 7 in a Major
16 Fugue No. 7 in a Major
17 Prelude No. 8 in F-Sharp minor
18 Fugue No. 8 in F-Sharp minor
19 Prelude No. 9 in E Major
20 Fugue No. 9 in E Major
21 Prelude No. 10 in C-Sharp minor
22 Fugue No. 10 in C-Sharp minor
23 Prelude No. 11 in B Major
24 Fugue No. 11 in B Major
25 Prelude No. 12 in G-Sharp minor
26 Fugue No. 12 in G-Sharp minor
27 Prelude No. 13 in F-Sharp Major
28 Fugue No. 13 in F-Sharp Major
29 Prelude No. 14 in E-Flat minor
30 Fugue No. 14 in E-Flat minor
31 Prelude No. 15 in D-Flat Major
32 Fugue No. 15 in D-Flat Major
33 Prelude No. 16 in B-Flat minor
34 Fugue No. 16 in B-Flat minor
35 Prelude No. 17 in A-Flat Major
36 Fugue No. 17 in A-Flat Major
37 Prelude No. 18 in F minor
38 Fugue No. 18 in F minor
39 Prelude No. 19 in E-Flat Major
40 Fugue No. 19 in E-Flat Major
41 Prelude No. 20 in C minor
42 Fugue No. 20 in C minor
43 Prelude No. 21 in B-Flat Major
44 Fugue No. 21 in B-Flat Major
45 Prelude No. 22 in G minor
46 Fugue No. 22 in G minor
47 Prelude No. 23 in F Major
48 Fugue No. 23 in F Major
49 Prelude No. 24 in D minor
50 Fugue No. 24 in D minor
51 Pars Prima Sonata Allegro
52 Pars Prima Waltz in Rondo-Form
53 Pars Prima Episode
54 Pars Prima Suite. Prelude - Sarabande - Jig - Sarabande. Minuet - Jig - Gavotte - Polonaise
55 Pars Prima Pibroch (Lament for the Children)
56 Pars Prima Episode. Arabesque Variations
57 Pars Prima Nocturne
58 Pars Altera Reverie-Fantasy
59 Pars Altera Fanfare - Forebodings. Alarm - Glimpse of a War-Vision
60 Pars Altera Variations on "Peace, Bread & the Land" (1917)
61 Pars Altera Symphonic March
62 Pars Altera Episode
63 Pars Altera Fandango
64 Pars Altera Pedal-Point. "To Emergent Africa"
65 Pars Altera Central Episode. Études
66 Pars Altera Variations in C minor
67 Pars Tertia Adagio. Tribute to Bach
68 Pars Tertia Triple Fugue Over Ground Bass Subject I. Andamento
69 Pars Tertia Triple Fugue Over Ground Bass Subject II. B a C H
70 Pars Tertia Triple Fugue Over Ground Bass Subject III. Dies Irae (In Memoriam the Six Million)
71 Pars Tertia Final Variations on a Theme Derived from Ground. Adagissimo Barocco
Three CD set. On DSCH is a discographic tour de force by "one of the essential artists of our time" (The New York Times). That the self-styled "maximalist" enjoys pushing himself to his limits - intellectually and physically - is well known, but the present project - two key cycles of musical modernism - puts all others in the shade. Completed in 1951, Dmitri Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues - a summary of all the major and minor tonalities - lasts some two and a half hours in total, while Ronald Stevenson's Passacaglia on DSCH, which he completed in 1963, is an unbroken set of variations lasting nearly an hour and a half. The letters DSCH spell out Shostakovich's musical monogram using their German note names: D-Es-C-H = D-E♭-C-B. The album's artwork is specially created by the internationally renowned graphic artist and book designer Christoph Niemann, who regularly illustrates for The New Yorker and The New York Times. His illustration for On DSCH offers a playfully abstract counterpart to this musical experience.
