READER CHOICE

Connor Gallagher, London

Recently I’ve been hooked on Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues, in particular his Fugue No. 7 in A. Innocently nestled in the bunch, this gem sticks out for its distinct lack of dissonance – a huge contrast to Shostakovich’s usual compositional style of ambivalent harmony and disjunct melody. Pleasant or disquieting? It’s hard to decide.