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.