10 MAY 2025 | SAT | 7PM
Grand Hall, The University of Hong Kong
Hannes Minnaar, piano
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
No. 1: Prelude and Fugue in C major
No. 2: Prelude and Fugue in A minor
No. 3: Prelude and Fugue in G major
No. 4: Prelude and Fugue in E minor
No. 5: Prelude and Fugue in D major
No. 6: Prelude and Fugue in B minor
No. 7: Prelude and Fugue in A major
No. 8: Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor
No. 9: Prelude and Fugue in E major
No. 10: Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor
No. 11: Prelude and Fugue in B major
No. 12: Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp minor
- INTERMISSION -
No. 13: Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp major
No. 14: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor
No. 15: Prelude and Fugue in D-flat major
No. 16: Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor
No. 17: Prelude and Fugue in A-flat major
No. 18: Prelude and Fugue in F minor
No. 19: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major
No. 20: Prelude and Fugue in C minor
No. 21: Prelude and Fugue in B-flat major
No. 22: Prelude and Fugue in G minor
No. 23: Prelude and Fugue in F major
No. 24: Prelude and Fugue in D minor
Recent highlights included a solo recital at the Concertgebouw and the world premiere of the concerto for luthéal/piano by Jan-Peter de Graaff in the NTR ZaterdagMatinee series. Additionally, Hannes Minnaar was artist in residence at the AVROTROS Vrijdagconcert in TivoliVredenburg, where he has collaborated with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2, and performed new work by Grace-Evangeline Mason for solo piano and choir with the Dutch Radio Choir and joined baritone Thomas Oliemans in a shared recital. With the Van Baerle Trio, he will present the world premiere of Robert Zuidam's piano trio and make a return to the United Kingdom.
Vitally important to Minnaar's musical identity is his collaboration with the Van Baerle Trio, founded in 2004 with violinist Maria Milstein and cellist Gideon den Herder. The Trio toured internationally in the 'Rising Stars' series in 2014, performing at renowned venues like the Barbican (London), Musikverein (Vienna), and Cité de la Musique (Paris). The Trio has released Beethoven's Complete Works for Piano Trio for Challenge Classics.
Minnaar's six solo albums received high acclaim, with his debut album featuring works by Rachmaninov and Ravel, earning an Edison. BBC Music Magazine selected his second album Bach Inspirations as 'Instrumental Choice of the Month'. His third album featuring piano music of Gabriel Fauré received rave reviews, including Gramophone: "Minnaar's identification with this unique realm of music is complete, and his deeply felt interpretations shine with clarity and infinite nuance". His discography further includes Beethoven's complete Piano Concertos, with The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend, the recital album Nox, Bach's Goldberg Variations, which was rewarded an Edison and a Diapason d'Or, an album with Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues, all for Challenge Classics label, and Fernand de la Tombelle's Fantaisie pour piano et orchestra with the Brussels Philharmonic led by Hervé Niquet for the Bru Zane label.
At home, next to a modern grand piano, Hannes Minnaar plays an Erard from 1858, which he has on loan from the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.
A minor, which has a different tonal centre but the same key signature. After the first two keys, the Well-Tempered Clavier moves up chromatically to C-sharp major, which is a semitone above. Bach's new key is close in interval but drastically different in key signature (seven sharps). The present set, on the other hand, takes a leap of perfect fifth to G major, which is distant in interval but with a less different key signature (only one sharp). Therefore, the Well-Tempered Clavier ends with the key of B minor, the most distant key from the starting point of C major in terms of interval; the last piece of the present set, on the other hand, is in D minor. Shostakovich's approach is also the one Chopin selected for his set of 24 Preludes, Op. 28.
Preludes presented in the present set draw materials from both Europe and the composer's native Russia. The opening prelude is Bach's first prelude for WellTempered Clavier projected on a sarabande. It is succeeded by a number of dances and pieces typical of Baroque suites or collections: minuet (No. 5 in D major), courante (No. 7 in A major), and passacaglia (No. 12 in G-sharp minor and No. 16 in B-flat minor). Some preludes suggest Central European influence: waltz (No. 15 in D-flat major) and mazurka (No. 18 in F minor). Russian folk elements are evident in No. 3 in G major, No. 9 in E major, and No. 22 in G minor. No. 19 in E-flat major appears to be a piece of Russian Orthodox choral music.
It is sometimes suggested that fugal subjects need to be somewhat monotonous to operate well. This suggestion Shostakovich obviously rejected when he composed the present set. Many fugal melodies in this set are catchy or memorable because of wide melodic range/tessitura, dramatic leaps, and delicate rhythms. If the suggestion had some truth in it, the composer challenged it and emerged victorious. Through cleverly positioned counter-subjects, well-crafted episodes, and cunning stretto entries, the composer managed to balance fugal subjects' individual charm and their potential for subsequent contrapuntal development. Most of the 24 fugues have either 3 or 4 voices, except No. 9 in E major and No. 13 in F-sharp, which have 2 and 5 voices respectively.
The set has been recorded many times. The composer himself recorded 18 of the 24. Tatiana Nikolayeva, who inspired the piece in 1950, recorded it four times. Other notable complete recordings include those by Vladimir Ashkenazy, Peter Donohoe, and Hannes Minnaar. Selected pieces have been recorded by eminent figures such as Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter, both the composer's acquaintances.
Programme notes by Chung-Kei Edmund Cheng PhD in Musicology, HKU
