Four hands, two worlds

Two seasons after a sold-out concert, pianists Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy return to the Festival International Bach Montréal.
Buoyed by growing international acclaim — including performances at Carnegie Hall and glowing reviews from the New York Times and The Guardian — the two artists continue their most celebrated programme.
In alternation, they perform a new selection of preludes and fugues by J.S. Bach and Dmitri Shostakovich, weaving a vivid and subtle dialogue across the centuries.
Played in mirror image, the two collections illuminate each other: Shostakovich’s compositions reveal how deeply he had internalized Bach, while Bach, in turn, seems to prefigure musical worlds he could never have imagined.

“Piano duo bring electrifying intimacy” — The Guardian

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue no 1 in C do major, The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 2, BWV 870

Dmitri Shostakovitch (1906-1975)
Prelude and Fugue no. 21 in B flat major, op. 87

Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue no. 21 in B flat major, The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 866

Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude no. 7 in E flat major, The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 852

Dmitri Shostakovitch
Fugue no.19 in E flat major, op. 87

Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude no. 9 in E major, The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 854

Dmitri Shostakovitch
Fugue no. 9 in E major, op. 87
Prelude no. 9 in E major, op. 87

Johann Sebastian Bach
Fugue no. 9 in E major, The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 854

Dmitri Shostakovitch
Prelude and Fugue no. 15 in D flat major, op. 87
Prelude and Fugue no. 16 in B flat minor, op. 87

Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude no 8 in E flat minor, The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 2, BWV 877

Dmitri Shostakovitch
Fugue no. 14, in E flat minor, op. 87

Dmitri Shostakovitch
Prelude no. 12 in G sharp minor, op. 87

Johann Sebastian Bach
Fugue no. 18 in G sharp minor, The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 2, BWV 887

Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude no. 10 in E minor, The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 855

Dmitri Shostakovitch
Fugue no. 4 in E minor, op. 87

Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue no. 24 in B flat minor, The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 867

Pavel Kolesnikov, piano
Samson Tsoy, piano