For solo piano

Chorale, Fugue and Postlude

for Piano

A ten-minute solo piano work in three connected formal ideas: chorale, fugue and postlude.

Year 1994/2003
Duration 10′
Scoring Solo
Piano
Publisher Boosey & Hawkes
/ Sikorski

Dedication

Dedicated to Brigitte Feldtmann.

Commission

Commissioned by Brigitte Feldtmann.

Premiere

29 March 2008. Cologne · Lera Auerbach, piano.

Recording

Recorded by Lera Auerbach. The BIS recording was awarded “Choc de la Musique 2007.”

Structure

  • Chorale

    Opening section.

  • Fugue

    Contrapuntal central section.

  • Postlude

    Closing section.

Work Information

Full Title
Chorale, Fugue and Postlude
Scoring
For solo piano.
Year
1994/2003
Duration
10′
Form
Chorale, fugue and postlude.
Instrumentation
Dedication
Dedicated to Brigitte Feldtmann.
Commission
Commissioned by Brigitte Feldtmann.
Premiere
29 March 2008 · Cologne; Lera Auerbach, piano.
Publisher
Score
SIK 8569.
Availability
Score available for purchase through Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski.
Recordings
BIS recording by Lera Auerbach. Earlier Lyric Records release includes the Fugue and Postlude from the 1994 version.

The Work

Chorale, Fugue and Postlude is a solo piano work composed in 1994 and revised or completed in 2003. It is built from three formal archetypes: the chorale, the fugue and the postlude. The title places the work in dialogue with older keyboard traditions while remaining within Auerbach’s contemporary piano language.

The piece lasts approximately ten minutes and was commissioned by and dedicated to Brigitte Feldtmann. The first performance took place in Cologne on 29 March 2008, with Lera Auerbach at the piano.

A concise solo piano work in which chorale, counterpoint and afterword form a single dramatic arc.
  • Form Chorale, fugue and postlude.
  • Duration Approximately 10 minutes.
  • Forces Solo piano.

Context

The work belongs to Auerbach’s solo piano catalogue and stands near the larger cycles and piano works that explore memory, form, and inherited musical language. Its title invokes liturgical and contrapuntal traditions without treating them as historical quotation alone.

The catalogue also notes that the BIS recording by Auerbach received “Choc de la Musique 2007.” The work appears on the BIS album Auerbach: Preludes and Dreams, alongside other major solo piano works.

Online Materials

Public links related to Chorale, Fugue and Postlude. The clearest complete recording source is Auerbach: Preludes and Dreams, performed by Lera Auerbach and released by BIS. I did not find a reliable full filmed performance of the complete work; YouTube links below are audio listings.

Publisher and Materials

Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski. The score is available through the official Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski purchase page. Rental material has been intentionally omitted because this is a solo piano work available for purchase.