Following on from the monumental cycle of 24 Preludes and Fugues [Naxos 8.554745-46], the First Piano Sonata and the 24 Preludes [Naxos 8.555781], this disc features most of Shostakovich’s remaining solo piano pieces – including miniatures and arrangements no less characteristic for their brevity. Unlike the explosive First Sonata, the Second Piano Sonata of 1943 is largely introspective in nature, a decidedly private response to the war years. Of the lighter pieces, A Child’s Exercise Book, written for the composer’s daughter, Galina, is presented in the order originally intended (and recorded in 1946) by Shostakovich. The four movements from the ballet The Limpid Stream are heard in Shostakovich’s own transcription, and here receive their first recording.