Shostakovich-Auerbach Five Preludes

Transcription / Arrangement

Shostakovich–Auerbach Five Preludes

After Op. 34

Five preludes from Dmitri Shostakovich’s Op. 34, arranged for violin and piano by Lera Auerbach.

Arrangement 2000
Forces Violin / Piano
Duration 8′
Publisher VAAP

Completion

Auerbach completed the violin-and-piano cycle. Her five arrangements were conceived together with Dmitri Tsyganov’s existing nineteen arrangements to make the full twenty-four-prelude cycle available for violin and piano.

First Performance

First performed in Jerusalem on September 5, 2001. Grigory Kalinovsky, violin; Tatiana Stepanova, piano.

Preludes

  1. Moderato No. 4 from Shostakovich’s Op. 34.
  2. Andante No. 7 from Shostakovich’s Op. 34.
  3. Adagio No. 14 from Shostakovich’s Op. 34.
  4. Moderato No. 23 from Shostakovich’s Op. 34.
  5. Presto No. 9 from Shostakovich’s Op. 34.

Work Information

Full Title
24 Preludes: Five preludes arranged for violin and piano after Op. 34
Composer / Arranger
Dmitri Shostakovich / arranged by Lera Auerbach.
Original / Arrangement
Shostakovich Op. 34, 1933 / Auerbach arrangement, 2000.
Instrumentation
vn—pft.
Abbreviations PDF
Expanded Forces
Violin and piano.
Duration
Approximately 8 minutes.
Commission
Commissioned by Grigory Kalinovsky.
First Performance
September 5, 2001, Jerusalem.
Grigory Kalinovsky, violin; Tatiana Stepanova, piano.
Score
SIK 2392.
Publisher
VAAP. Available through Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski in specified territories.
Recording
Centaur Records 2636. Grigory Kalinovsky, violin; Tatiana Goncharova, piano.

The Work

Dmitri Shostakovich’s Op. 34 is a cycle of twenty-four piano preludes. Nineteen of these preludes were arranged for violin and piano by Dmitri Tsyganov, the longtime first violinist of the Beethoven Quartet and a close associate of Shostakovich.

Lera Auerbach’s five arrangements complete that violin-and-piano cycle. They do not present a separate miniature suite so much as a necessary completion: five missing pieces translated into a chamber idiom that allows the full Op. 34 sequence to exist in the violin-and-piano medium.

Context

Auerbach later returned to Shostakovich’s Op. 34 in complete-cycle arrangements for violoncello and piano and for viola and piano. The violin-and-piano Five Preludes remain distinct because they were made to join an existing historical transcription tradition rather than to replace it.

Online Materials

Materials and References

  • Publisher
    Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski Work Page

    Official publisher page for Auerbach’s five violin-and-piano arrangements after Shostakovich Op. 34.

    Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski
  • Score / Materials
    Purchase Score

    Official Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski purchase and print-on-demand enquiry page.

    Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski
  • Catalogue
    Auerbach Work Catalogue

    Catalogue reference including commission, prelude list, premiere, score number, duration, and recording information.

    Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski PDF
  • Recording
    Lera Auerbach Discography

    Discography listing for the Shostakovich Op. 34 violin-and-piano recording with Grigory Kalinovsky and Tatiana Goncharova.

    leraauerbach.com
  • Recording
    Centaur Records Recording

    Commercial recording of Shostakovich’s violin-and-piano cycle, including Auerbach’s five arrangements.

    Apple Music Classical · Centaur Records
Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski logo

Publisher and Materials

Published by VAAP. Score materials are available through the official Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski publisher and purchase links.