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by any chance does anyone here play shostakovichs 7th prelude an fugue?

Yes, I play it. It's a really cool piece, somewhat virtuosic (though that's not the focus). The fugue subject is interesting and rhythmic
I competed with it a while ago.
This piece is not easy. Make sure you practice it plenty hands separate and SLOWLY and learn it with a teacher.

What would you like to know about it?

basically how to play it!

its only the fugue i have trouble with.

conceerning pedalling. . .
some of the notes demand the use of the sustain pedal, dont they? this isnt a misunderstanding by me and they actually only need the regular pedal no? anyway, if its the sustain thats required, my piano (or the piano which ill be sitting my grade in(its one of my grade pieces)) doesnt have a sustain pedal. this menas i resort to using the regular pedal, which maybe ruins the overall texture somewhat.
during the first half of the fugue i use the pedal in two measures, as i cant reach the notes otherwise, i keep it down for the length of the notes i want to sustain only, so it isnt that noticable. im sure no pedal use is intended here though, as someone with quite long fingers could reach it im sure.
however, in the second half of the fuge, a couple of measures definitely need some sort of pedal, and the fact that only one bass note implies this use, makes me feel the sustain i required (on a recording i have of the piece, the sustain pedal is used), whichever though, i can only practise it with the regular pedal, and so i do that, i am not sure whether it worsens the overalll performance. what would you say?

concerning technique . . .
some bars are particularly tricky! there are some big stretches involved to keep all the right notes sustained, and the seperation of the melodies in the right hand can be tricky to pull off.
you say practise it sperate handedly. i havent done this, ive practised mostly hands together, very slowly, as i found it was the coordination of both hands that was hard to achieve. i struggle to hear three melodies as i play, any advice? how did you learn to play the piece properly?
thanks. any suggestions will be appreciated.

" i havent done this, ive practised mostly hands together, very slowly, as i found it was the coordination of both hands that was hard to achieve. i struggle to hear three melodies as i play, any advice? how did you learn to play the piece properly?"

See, in order to successfully coordinate this piece, each hand has got to fully know its part before all the pieces of the jigsaw can be put together. then you put the hands together slowly.
Regarding the voicing of fugues, this can be easily done by recognizing the fugue subject as it appears in its many forms, and bringing it out (though not as to completely overshadow the other voices), then everything else will fall into place naturally. This is how I learn fugues, and it really works.
What's my secret? Slow, hands separate practice before putting it together, and highlighting the fugue subject.

As for the pedal issue, I really don't know what to do. This piece heavily relies on pedal to sustain the intervals and also helps with the tone, which is probably a hard part of interpreting this piece. I only have medium sized hands myself, and pedal is definitely needed for me.

Here are some more tips:
at the end of the prelude, make sure the right hand is heard all the way through the rests in the left hand. use some pedal. it sounds AWESOME

also, remember that the mood of this fugue is sprightly. you don't want this piece to sound dead now do you?

Good luck. Getting this piece to come together makes you want to

with the voicing, i meant more i cant listen to the three voices as i play, not that i dont recognise them. but ill sure pracitse hands seperately now.

"at the end of the prelude, make sure the right hand is heard all the way through the rests in the left hand. use some pedal. it sounds AWESOME"

i know!!! i do that! it really is a charming piece. did you have any luck competing with it?

Yes, a couple weeks ago. so thankful

I just competed today. I'm praying I get good results.