Prelude No. 15 in D flat major for two pianos

Prelude No. 15 in D flat major for two pianos

     The Prelude for two pianos (Op. 87a)—the author’s arrangement of the Prelude No. 15 in D flat major, Op. 87. In contrast to all the pieces mentioned above, the parts of the two performers are not equal here—the first piano draws the solo line, while the second piano accompanies it in low and medium registers. Thus, the textural distribution between the two pianists in thePrelude is reminiscent of four-hand playing on a single instrument. The precise division of the functions into solo and accompaniment (together with the occasional octave doublings in the bass on the strong beats) emphasises the waltz feel which is peculiar to the Prelude’s solo version.
     The Prelude was performed for the first time on 8 November 1954 in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
     The Prelude was published in 1963. The editor was Yelena Petrovna Khoven—Aleksandr Goldenweiser’s student, a professor at the Central Music School attached to the Moscow Conservatory, who taught piano to Shostakovich’s children.