Ooooh, coincidence. I don't usually buy classical music but I went and ordered a CD of some of Shostakovich's piano music just yesterday. Why? Well I was listening to some TV theme tunes and came across this one I'd forgotten about. What a great piece of music, right up my street.

Yes I buy classical CDs on the strength of TV theme tunes - I'm such a culture vulture.

By the way, I don't think the links on the results page could be any less helpful.

Most people think either of the symphonies or the quartets when Shostakovich comes up, but his Op 87 set of preludes & fugues absolutely stands alone in the 20th century - sheer genius.

His cello concerto is great.

7, 14, 8, 13, etc.
I predicted 8, but then I've only heard 8 and 15. Which is the one with a long viola solo? I'd be way down with that.

Which is the one with a long viola solo?
That must be referring to the end of #13.

I heard the whole cycle played last summer at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival. Awesome.

I was shooting for 8, and ended up with 11/8/nothingelsematters.
Love 8. 7 is a close second, but it's a royal turd to play. Much, MUCH harder than it sounds.

NB: long pointless rambling anecdote follows.

When I was studying music, I was all gangbusters for Shosta -- loved it. Adored it. Mainly cos of the first cello concerto (I'm a cellist). Anyway, everyone thought me particularly odd, particularly as none of them had actually heard much Shosta. Right up until the point they were forced to listen to the 8th Symphony, and then we played the 8th Quartet (in its arrangement as a Chamber symphony).

Suddenly, they understood. The music is _powerful_, in a way little recent music seems to be.
'course, it was too late by that stage for them to think of me as anything but odd, but there ya go ;)

I just heard the Audobon quartet doing #7 earlier this fall. When I saw the program I was almost exploding, 'cause it's so rare; if you see one on a program it's almost always #8. (Which is fine, and I maybe even prefer the Barshai arrangement). Anyway, it was programmed in between Haydn Op 33 nr 3 and Smetana's "My Life". The venue was packed with folks from a retirement home outside town that runs busses in to events like this, and let me tell you, there was an elderly gentleman in the row in front of me who just couldn't be having with that crazy, communist noise. And he wasn't shy about sharing his opinion.

Audubon