What is the best recording of Pictures at an Exhibition?
“Pictures at an Exhibition” is Mussorgsky’s most popular concert work and Fritz Reiner’s 1958 RCA Living Stereo LP is the most famous recording of it and is still the standard to which other recordings are almost inevitably compared.
Is Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition program music?
Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is piano music, but it has inspired more orchestrations and arrangements than possibly any other piece of music. The exhibition of the title was a memorial in honor of Mussorgsky’s friend, the architect and artist Viktor Hartmann, who had died in 1873, at the age of 39.
How long did it take for Mussorgsky to compose Pictures at an Exhibition?
Petersburg. About a year later, Mussorgsky composed Pictures at an Exhibition. Completed in only twenty days, Pictures was originally a set of short pieces for piano in which Mussorgsky depicted himself walking through the exhibition and contemplating Hartmann’s works.
What key is Pictures at an Exhibition in?
Movements
| No. | Title in score | Key |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gnomus (Latin) | E♭ minor |
| Promenade | A♭ major | |
| 2 | Il vecchio castello (Italian) | G♯ minor |
| Promenade | B major |
What is the story behind pictures at an exhibition?
Pictures at an Exhibition, musical work in 10 movements by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky that was inspired by a visit to an art exhibition. Mussorgsky composed Pictures as a memorial to his friend, the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann, who had died in 1873 at age 39.
Why did Modest Mussorgsky write Pictures at an Exhibition?
Mussorgsky composed Pictures as a memorial to his friend, the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann, who had died in 1873 at age 39. At the time of Mussorgsky’s death in 1881 from alcoholism, the piece had been neither performed nor published.
Who orchestrated Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition?
Maurice Ravel
THE BACKSTORY In 1922 the French composer Maurice Ravel told the Russian conductor Serge Koussevitzky about this set of fascinating piano pieces. Koussevitzky, his enthusiasm fired, asked Ravel to orchestrate them.
Who wrote the most famous arrangement of Pictures at an Exhibition?
composer Modest Mussorgsky’s
Pictures at an Exhibition is probably Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky’s most famous work. Originally written for piano, it was given the orchestral treatment by Maurice Ravel in 1922, and that adaptation quickly became the most famous version of the piece.
Why did Mussorgsky write Pictures at an Exhibition?
Mussorgsky composed Pictures as a memorial to his friend, the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann, who had died in 1873 at age 39.
What is Modest Mussorgsky famous for?
Modest Petrovitch Mussorgsky (born Karevo, Pskov district, 21 March 1839; died St Petersburg, 28 March 1881) was a Russian composer. Mussorgsky is famous for his operas and songs. He discovered new ways of writing for the voice which were very tuneful but which also suited the Russian language.
Why did Modest Mussorgsky composed Pictures at an Exhibition?
Was Mussorgsky an alcoholic?
After his mother died in 1865, Modest Mussorgsky turned to alcohol. It was a terrible addiction, but also a way for a young intellectual like him to rebel against the system. He spent his nights in seedy taverns, drowning his future in hard liquor. His decline was slow but steady.
When was Pictures at an exhibition by Mussorgsky recorded?
One of the Great Classical Recordings Ever. “Pictures at an Exhibition” is Mussorgsky’s most popular concert work and Fritz Reiner’s 1958 RCA Living Stereo LP is the most famous recording of it and is still the standard to which other recordings are almost inevitably compared.
Where did Sergei Mussorgsky get his music from?
Mussorgsky’s hand-written manuscript was published in facsimile in 1975. Mussorgsky based his musical material on drawings and watercolours by Hartmann produced mostly during the artist’s travels abroad. Locales include Italy, France, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.
How does Mussorgsky’s promenade movement relate to the exhibition?
Mussorgsky links the suite’s movements in a way that depicts the viewer’s own progress through the exhibition. Two Promenade movements stand as portals to the suite’s main sections. Their regular pace and irregular meter depicts the act of walking.
When did Mussorgsky compose the song Sunless?
Mussorgsky lent to the exhibition the two pictures Hartmann had given him, and viewed the show in person. Later in June, two-thirds of the way through composing his song cycle Sunless, Mussorgsky was inspired to compose Pictures at an Exhibition, quickly completing the score in three weeks (2–22 June 1874).