Customer Reviews

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition No1-10 (Piano Concerto Version); Khovanshchina

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Pictures at an Exhibition was originally written for piano, and later transcribed for orchestra, which is the most heard form of the work. Making a piano concerto out of it combines the lush orchestral strings, stinging brass, piercing percussion and the hugely impressive piano sound that is perfect when enters. More people should hear this work arranged this way.

Normally in music, I prefer the composer's original version. With Mussorgsky, defining "original" isn't always clear cut. This is a fresh take that brings out interesting aspects of the composition that are subdued in the common Ravel orchestration.

This is an excellent version of Pictures at an Exhibiton. You also get a lot of other interesting Mussorgsky pieces with this CD. Note that this same set is available at a much lower price in a different edition.

I have many different versions of Pictures at an Exhibiton and the other ones I highly recommend are the brass version by the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble, one by the Shostakovich Trio, and any mussorgsky by Stowkowski, who liked to stick to the original Mussorgsky, not someones interpretation or fix. This one has the Stokowsky's symphonic synthesis of Boris Godunov (with no vocals).