This is a very special recording of Shostakovich's last public performance at the piano. It comes from a recital in the Glinka Hall of the Petersburg Philharmonia on 28 May 1966. Vishnevskaya sang Shostakovich's Satires, op. 109, with Shostakovich playing the piano. We know from his letter to Isaak Glikman that the rest of the programme comprised:

First Half
Preface to the Complete Edition of My Works (premiere)
5 Humoresques from Krokodil, op. 121, with Evgeny Nesterenko (premiere)
Shakespeare's Sixty-Sixth Sonnet, translated by Pasternak (op. 62)
'Jenny' by Burns, translated by Marshak (later op. 140)
Satires op. 109 with Vishnevskaya

Second Half
First Quartet
Eleventh Quartet (premiere), with the Beethoven Quartet

Vishnevskaya also sang fragments of Katerina Izmailova with Shostakovich at some point in the programme

By his own admission Shostakovich was terribly nervous to perform, and Vishnevskaya later said he was terrified to go on. The evening however was reported as a success. They were supposed to repeat the entire programme the next night, 29 May, but according to Sofia Moshevich in her book Dmitri Shostakovich, Pianist, '...the strain and emotional excitement of the performance combined with the unbearable heat and humidity of that particular day in Leningrad proved to be too much for him. The following night, he suffered [his] first heart attack, which was confirmed as serious. Sadly, illness claimed its first victory over his life, making future public performances impossible. The recital of 28 May 1966 was Shostakovich's final public appearance as a pianist'.

This video was made before 1991. Vishnevskaya played all roles, lip-synching. The set design was taken from Vsevolod Meyerhold's archive. Unfortunately the applause at the end was cut. Shostakovich's PC 1 is used as the outro.

The recording starts at 02:40. There is a bit of interference from the fourth piece onwards.

Галина Вишневская - Шостакович - Сатиры

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