1. Prelude: Adagio
2. Scherzo: Allegro molto

This early work was completed in July 1925, just after Shostakovich had finished his First Symphony. It was dedicated to the memory of his poet friend Volodya Kurchavov and first performed at the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow on 9 January 1927. Originally Shostakovich envisaged a suite (in five movements), but he abandoned that scheme, settling on the present two-movement structure: an eloquent slow movement followed by a Scherzo which is full of forward momentum one moment, and quiet reflection the next. The driving energy soon wins out, and the music hurtles towards a frenetic close. At the time, Shostakovich expressed the view that the Scherzo was ‘the very best thing I have written’.

Nigel Simeone 2024