Andrey Korobeinikov. Shostakovich. Preludes, Op. 34 and Piano Sonata No. 2

Concert recording, April 20, 2026. Shostakovich's genius lies in his unnerving ability to shift lenses: today he examines reality through the magnifying glass of satire, tomorrow he writes on a scale that is nothing short of biblical. Andrey Korobeinikov's program brings these two sides of his universe into collision, pairing the Preludes, Op. 34 with the monumental architecture of the Second Sonata. The twenty-four preludes are a remarkable feat of creative concentration: Shostakovich wrote the cycle over the winter of 1932–1933 in a little over two months. Following Bach and Chopin, he too leads the listener through the keys — but instead of the latter's Romantic confession he offers a swift, shape-shifting theater of moods. Here the composer is a great mimic, trying on the masks of everyday genres in order to speak of difficult and tragic things through banal formulas. It is all here: the out-of-tune polka of a wheezing brass band and an absurd étude in the manner of Czerny, a funeral march and a sentimental waltz, a street barrel organ and a coarse dance. Yet behind the laughter hides an eerie irony, and the lofty is interwoven with the grotesque and with street tunes, creating an utterly honest portrait of reality. Set against them is the Second Sonata — a wartime work (1943) in which the masks come off. If the Preludes are play and subtlety, the Sonata is a stark fresco created amid a collapsing world. Pianist Andrey Korobeinikov, known for his rare intellectual approach, is an ideal guide on this demanding journey. _____________ Follow us on social media: VK — https://vk.com/iletheleme Telegram — https://t.me/ile_theleme Instagram —   / ile_theleme   Facebook —   / iletheleme