A late-night candlelit recital

In 1950, living in the menacing shadow of Stalinist disapproval, Shostakovich found himself sent to be a judge at the International Bach Competition in Leipzig. Deeply moved by the playing of Tatiana Nikolayeva, the First Prize winner, he was inspired to create his own homage to Bach’s great cycle of 48 Preludes and Fugues. It also allowed him to journey deep into his own creative world, away from the trials and terrors of Soviet artistic life. In two late-night, candlelit recitals, award-winning Dutch pianist Hannes Minnaar takes us on that journey through one of the 20th century’s most profound masterpieces.