"Richly rewarding: Yulianna Avdeeva is on five-star form in Shostakovich," says BBC Music Magazine

The September 2025 issue of BBC Music Magazine is out. Pianist Yulianna Avdeeva gets a five-star review for her new recording of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, op. 87, available now on PENTATONE.

Avdeeva’s take on the monumental cycle for solo piano is "a jewel box of treasures," says the reviewer.

And as the brief pieces flit by, their myriad characters are drawn out by Avdeeva's nimble fingers, cool approach and nuanced understanding. She particularly makes the more elusive, quiet numbers gleam like gems. ... Shostakovich's stylistic nods to Bach are beautifully delineated but never overstated…

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death, Avdeeva performed the entire piece in the 2024-25 season, including at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig; Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin; Palau de la Música in Barcelona; Saitama Arts Center, in Tokyo; Festival de Lanaudière, in Quebec; National Centre for the Performing Arts, in Beijing; Ostrava, in the Czech Republic; and Seon, in Switzerland, among others. Later this year, she performs the full piece at Círculo de Bellas Artes, in Madrid. Find out more at avdeevapiano.com.

Check out the full review here.