Shostakovichs cycle of 24 Preludes & Fugues always held a special place in Tatiana Nikolayevas vast repertoire. She inspired & premiered the work in Leningrad in 1952 & it was also the last piece she ever performed on stage before her untimely dath in 1993. The lifelong friendship between the composer & the performer started when the 26-year-old Nikolayeva won first prize at the 1950 Bach Piano competition organized in Leipzig for the bicennial of the German composers death. As a member of the jury, Shostakovich was immensely impressed by her playing. Inspired by the experiece, he returned to Moscow to compose his own set of Preludes & Fugues from 10 October 1950 to 25 February 1951. Nikolayeva witnessed the ongoing creative process. Taking only one or two days to complete each new prelude & fugue, Shostakovich would ask her to come to his Moscow apartment where he played for Nikolayeva the latest piece he had composed for her.