Shostakovich D. Bagatelle. Preludes op. 1

Piano pieces Bagatelle and Preludes “Op. 1” (the opus number in inverted commas corresponds to the early numbering, later abolished by the composer) are written by 13 years old Shostakovich in 1919. They are completely unknown to musicians and were hardly ever mentioned by musicologists. No reliable data exists about possible performances of these pieces. Their first edition is timed to the 110th Anniversary celebration of the composer’s birth and is published with the approval of Irina Antonovna Shostakovich and Galina Dmitriyevna and Maxim Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.

Bagatelle is dedicated to Mura (Marianna) Gramenitskaya, Shostakovich’s schoolmate at the Glasser School and the Conservatory. This is one of few completed fair copies of early piano pieces of his pre-Сonservatory period. Of the Preludes for piano ”Op. 1”, only two, No. 1 (in G minor) and No. 2 (in G major), are preserved in manuscripts, Prelude No. 2 lacking its last page. Prelude No. 1 exists in two auto-graphs — as a part of “Opus 1” (inscribed to artist Boris Kustodiev in September 1919) and as an individual piece (dedicated to Kustodiev). It is also present in the unfinished manuscript of Preludes Op. 2. Prelude “Op. 1 No. 2” is based on the music of the Bagatelle, which has been enlarged by introducing a contrasting middle section.

The present publication is based on the autographs held at the Dmitry Shostakovich Archive. Errors in the manuscripts are corrected by the editor without comments. Prestissimo tempo marking has been added to Prelude No. 2 corresponding to Bagatelle. In the Bagatelle manuscript dynamic and agogic marks are absent.

Contents:

Summary
BAGATELLE (Music text example)
PRELUDES “Ор. 1”
   1. Prelude in G minor
   2. Prelude in G major