Shostakovich 24 Preludes And Fugue Playing Techniques

Dmitri Shostakovich is one of the greatest Russian composers of the 20th century. His music composition includes a variety of styles, which are treasured by people all over the world and renowned in music history. Piano music composition is an important portion of Shostakovich's achievements, among which the Op.87, "24 Preludes and Fugues" is a masterpiece of counterpoint piano work.The "24 Preludes and Fugues" is also known as "The Well-Tempered Klavier of the 20th century". It is based on traditional music styles and new composing techniques of the 20th century. In addition, it incorporates the native Russian music. This article focuses on the "24 Preludes and Fugues", and introduces Shostakovich's composing motive and background, with emphasis on the analysis and summary of his various playing techniques.This article consists of three sections: an introduction, a main section, and a conclusion. The introduction describes the current status of domestic and international research conducted on "24 Preludes and Fugues". Composing techniques are usually discussed in current research, but discussion of playing techniques is also very meaningful and has high practical value. The main section is divided into two subsections. The first subsection is about the biography of Shostakovich, along with his background and motivation for "24 Preludes and Fugues". The second subsection analyzes the playing techniques from the following six different aspects: theme melody, tone color and dynamics, rhythm and tempo, use of pedal, design of fingering techniques and the connection between prelude and fugue. The conclusion summarizes several key points, which have to be well understood in order to play this composition.24 Preludes and Fugues" takes an important position in the history of Russian and global counterpoint music. Analyzing and studying Shostakovich's playing techniques are essential for us to understand, research and perform the piece. The reason for selecting the topic of this article, i.e., playing techniques, is to draw the attention of piano teachers and players, in the hope that they will include more counterpoint music in their piano teaching. Another reason is to help people learn and play this piece.