Mussorgsky

[scottscheule]

Wow.

[Novi]

I still need Pictures played on the pianer.

I first heard Pictures in its orchestral incarnation, but after hearing the piano version, I much prefer the latter. It fascinates me no end the amount of sound that can come out of the piano .

[BachQ]

I first heard Pictures in its orchestral incarnation, but after hearing the piano version, I much prefer the latter. It fascinates me no end the amount of sound that can come out of the piano .

Over 12 composers have followed Ravel's lead by orchestrating Pictures at an Exhibition ........ including two that turned it into a piano concerto 

None of these other composers, of course, have matched Ravel's popularity .........

[Novi]

Over 12 composers have followed Ravel's lead by orchestrating Pictures at an Exhibition ........ including two that turned it into a piano concerto 

None of these other composers, of course, have matched Ravel's popularity .........

Oh wow, I never knew that. I was only aware of the Ravel and the Stokowski ones, and have only heard the Ravel . Seems like the orchestration project's a bit of a composer rites of passage ...

[Anne]

Very little, if anything, has been mentioned about Mussorgsky's other opera, Khovanshchina.  The music is gorgeous.  The overture is "Dawn on the Moscow River" (or similar) which is sometimes played in concerts.  I can listen to that music again and again and still hear new things in it.

The music is wonderful in K, but some (many?) people have trouble with the libretto.

Mussorgsky's problem with this opera was that he wanted to write an opera about Peter the Great, but there was a law at that time forbidding any ruler to be presented on stage.  So, how does one write an opera about a Tsar and still not present him as a character in the drama?

My recommendation: read Raymond K. Massie's book, Peter the Great.  There was also a movie made from the book and given the same title.  I have it in VHS and keep checking to see if it has made it to DVD.  The book is highly enjoyable, likewise the movie. 

Then get The New Grove Book of Operas, (750) pages) edited by Stanley Sadie.  Gorgeous book!  It explains the libretto problem better than anything else I have read and in very readable fashion.  I have given a copy of this book to friends.

Two good books and a good movie, that should keep people busy and happy for a while!   

I recommend the DVD Khovanshchina conducted by Valerie Gergiev.  Such beautiful music!

Regarding Sorochintsky Fair - there's not enough music written for that opera.

[Todd]

Very little, if anything, has been mentioned about Mussorgsky's other opera, Khovanshchina.  The music is gorgeous.

Absolutely agree!  It's a magnificent work.

[BachQ]

Oh wow, I never knew that. I was only aware of the Ravel and the Stokowski ones, and have only heard the Ravel . Seems like the orchestration project's a bit of a composer rites of passage ...

I stand corrected.  There are more than 12 transcriptions / orchestrations by other composers.

Orchestral arrangements
A listing of orchestral arrangements of Pictures at an Exhibition:

Mikhail Tushmalov (ca. 1886; three "pictures" and four Promenades omitted)
Henry Wood (1915; four Promenades omitted)
Leo Funtek (1922)
Maurice Ravel (1922; the fifth Promenade omitted)
Giuseppe Becce (1922; for "salon-orchestra")
Leonidas Leonardi (1924)
Lucien Cailliet (1937)
Leopold Stokowski (1938; Tuileries, fifth Promenade and Limoges omitted)
Walter Goehr (1942; includes a subsidiary part for piano)
Sergei Gorchakov (1954)
Daniel Walter (1959)
Helmut Brandenburg (ca. 1970)
Emile Naoumoff (ca. 1974, for piano and orchestra)
Zdenek Macal (ca. 1977)
Lawrence Leonard (1977; for piano and orchestra)
Vladimir Ashkenazy (1982)
Pung Siu-Wen (ca. 1983; for orchestra of Chinese instruments)
Thomas Wilbrandt (1992)
Byrwec Ellison (1995)
Mekong Delta (1997; for group and orchestra)
Carl Simpson (1997)
Julian Yu (2002; for chamber orchestra)
Hanspeter Gmur (date unknown)

Non-orchestral arrangements
A listing of non-orchestral arrangements of Pictures at an Exhibition:

Vladimir Horowitz (1946; revised version for solo piano)
Giuseppe Becce (1930; for piano trio)
Rudolf Wurthner (ca. 1954; for accordion orchestra; abridged version)
Ralph Burns (1957; for jazz orchestra)
Erik Leidzen (ca. 1960; for band)
Allyn Ferguson (ca. 1963; for jazz orchestra)
Mark Hindsley (ca. 1963; for band)
Dale Eymann (ca. 1965; for band; The Bogatyr Gates only)
B. Futerman (ca. 1968; Russian folk instruments orchestra, The Bogatyr Gates only)
Roger Boutry (ca. 1970; for band)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1971; rock group)
Harry van Hoof (ca. 1972; brass ensemble; The Bogatyr Gates only)
Isao Tomita (1975; for synthesizer)
Oskar Gottlieb Blarr (1976; for organ)
Elgar Howarth (ca. 1977; for brass ensemble)
Arthur Willis (1970s; for organ)
Dr. Keith Chapman (1970s; for the Wanamaker organ)
Günther Kaunzinger (1980; for organ)
Elgar Howarth (1981; for brass band)
Kazuhito Yamashita (1981; for classical guitar)
Reginald Haché (1982; for two pianos)
Henk de Vlieger (1984; for 14 percussion players, celesta and harp)
Arie Abbenes & Herman Jeurissen (ca. 1984; for carillon & band; The Bogatyr Gates only)
James Curnow (1985; for concert band; abridged version)
Jan Hala (ca. 1988; for guitar and pop orchestra; Baba-Yaga only)
Jean Guillou (ca. 1988; for organ)
Heinz Wallisch (ca. 1989; for two guitars)
Yuri Chernov (ca. 1991; for Russian folk instrument orchestra; The Bogatyr Gates only)
Gert van Keulen (1992; for band)
Hans Wilhelm Plate (1993; for 44 grand pianos and one prepared piano)
Jim Prime & Thom Hannum (ca. 1994; for brass quintet and band; abridged version)
Hans-Karsten Raecke (ca. 1994; for chorus, vocal soloists, synthesizers, brass and percussion)
Tangerine Dream (1994)
Trevor Parks (1994; for two pianos and wind band)
Elmar Rothe (1995; for three guitars)
Mekong Delta (1997; for metal band)
Joachim Linckelmann (ca. 1999 for wind quintet)
Vladimir Boyashov (ca. 2000 for Russian folk orchestra)
Tim Seddon (ca. 2002 two pianos)
Clare & Brent Fisher (2004; for jazz bigband)
Carl Simpson (2004; for wind orchestra)
Wayne Lytle, for the DVD Animusic 2 (2005; for synthesizer; Promenade + 3 movements)
Cameron Carpenter (2006, for organ)
Sergei V. Korschmin (2006; for brass ensemble)
David Aydellot (2006; for marching band)
Joseph Kreines (2006; for band, commissioned by the Timber Creek High School Wind Ensemble)
Ward Swingle (date unknown; for vocal ensemble, double bass and percussion; Limoges only)
John Boyd (date unknown; for band)
Vyacheslav Rozanov (date unknown; for bayan orchestra; The Old Castle only)
William Schmidt (date unknown; for saxophone choir);
Andres Segovia (date unknown; for guitar; The Old Castle only)
Elias Seppala (date unknown; for band)
Atsushi Sugahara (date unknown; for percussion ensemble)
Tohru Takahashi (date unknown; for band)
Simon Wright (date unknown; for band)
Akira Yodo (date unknown; for clarinet choir)
Michael Sweeney (date unknown; for band)
Massimo Gabba (2006; for organ)
Adam Berces (2007; for synthesizer - 'Pictures at an Exxhibition' album)
Nicholas Sprenger and Co-Arranger Carter Page (2007; for electric 7-String Guitar and electric 4-String Bass Guitar, Shortened versions of Promenade, The Old Castle, Bydlo and a reprise of Promenade in place of The Great Gate Of Kiev for the Experimental/Avant-Garde/Metal band KHAZM)
Mauricio Romero (2007; complete transcription for double bass alone)
Tony Matthews (2007; complete transcription for Brass Quintet)

[Maciek]

 

[Novi]

Non-orchestral arrangements
A listing of non-orchestral arrangements of Pictures at an Exhibition:

You forgot this one:

John Thompson's Teaching Little Fingers to Play transcription (one handed? can't remember, it's too, too long ago) of Promenade .

Even I can play that one.

[BachQ]

Mussorgsky's kindred spirit, Leos Janacek, now has his own lair .......

[BachQ]

Upon having listened to Mussorgsky's opera Khovanschina, Val had this to say:

MUSSORGSKY: Khovantchina (version of Rimsky-Korsakov)

An extraordinary interpretation, the best I ever heard in this sublime opera. First, the choir of the Bolchoi, really unique in this music.
Khaikine conducts using a fast tempo, very dramatic.

The singers are remarkable. In special Arkhipova, unforgettable Marfa. Krivtchenia is the ideal Ivan Khovansky and Maslenikov, with his beautiful voice and his perfect style, the best Galitsin.

Ogvnitsev has not a voice as glorious as Reizen, but his a very human and touching Dosifei.

[Pierre]

One of my favorite Mussorgsky discs is this one with Abbado and Berlin, that includes a real rarity, St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain.  While it bears some resemblance to the much more familiar Night on Bald Mountain, especially in the opening, this version uses a full chorus and later passages are substantially different.  The rest of the CD has selected scenes from Khovanshchina, also very beautifully done. 



--Bruce

I think this is indeed an extraordinary disc - and it provides what might be called the 'missing link' between Musorgsky's original version of Bare Mountain and Rimsky-Korsakov's famous version. I remember being slightly annoyed by a programme note for a concert George Benjamin conducted at Cambridge when he was a student there, which claimed that Rimsky-Korsakov 'improved' Musorgsky's 'chaotic' (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but that was the gist) original: at the time I thought it did less than justice to Musorgsky's experimental original. Now from hearing Abbado's recording of Musorgsky's choral version I know how relatively little 'tidying' Rimsky actually had to do!

[bhodges]

I think this is indeed an extraordinary disc - and it provides what might be called the 'missing link' between Musorgsky's original version of Bare Mountain and Rimsky-Korsakov's famous version. I remember being slightly annoyed by a programme note for a concert George Benjamin conducted at Cambridge when he was a student there, which claimed that Rimsky-Korsakov 'improved' Musorgsky's 'chaotic' (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but that was the gist) original: at the time I thought it did less than justice to Musorgsky's experimental original. Now from hearing Abbado's recording of Musorgsky's choral version I know how relatively little 'tidying' Rimsky actually had to do!

Glad you like this, too.  I found it quite a revelation.  So just to confirm, there are three versions: Mussorgsky's original (i.e., earlier), this one above (in the middle) and the much more popular Rimsky-Korsakov orchestration (the last)?  (Sorry, I don't have the CD handy to look at the notes.) 

PS, totally off-topic but since you mentioned Benjamin, next week, I'm seeing his Into the Little Hill, I think in its U.S. premiere.

--Bruce

[Pierre]

Glad you like this, too.  I found it quite a revelation.  So just to confirm, there are three versions: Mussorgsky's original (i.e., earlier), this one above (in the middle) and the much more popular Rimsky-Korsakov orchestration (the last)?  (Sorry, I don't have the CD handy to look at the notes.) 

PS, totally off-topic but since you mentioned Benjamin, next week, I'm seeing his Into the Little Hill, I think in its U.S. premiere.

--Bruce

Just wanted to say I've nothing against Benjamin myself - don't really know his music. I'm not even sure he wrote the programme note I mentioned. But he was quite a big star in Cambridge when I lived there in the 1980s.

[M forever]

I think this is indeed an extraordinary disc - and it provides what might be called the 'missing link' between Musorgsky's original version of Bare Mountain and Rimsky-Korsakov's famous version. I remember being slightly annoyed by a programme note for a concert George Benjamin conducted at Cambridge when he was a student there, which claimed that Rimsky-Korsakov 'improved' Musorgsky's 'chaotic' (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but that was the gist) original: at the time I thought it did less than justice to Musorgsky's experimental original. Now from hearing Abbado's recording of Musorgsky's choral version I know how relatively little 'tidying' Rimsky actually had to do!

Great disc indeed. It was also a total revelation for me since I did not know that version and had always wondered what the hell R-K was thinking. But he only meant well. He understood that Mussorgsky was a genius of epic proportions, but he also knew that people at the time would not be able to see that. So he wanted to help a little. Now, today, there is really no need for his version at all.

[vandermolen]

Lyrita are issuing Sir Henry Wood's orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition, which I heard years ago on the radio and thought it terrific, preferable to the more polished Ravel version, not to mention the "version" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer (the arrogance of the designation "Mussorsky/Lake" on the LP always made me laugh.

http://www.lyrita.co.uk/

[BachQ]

Val has formulated an opinion about a 1946 recording of Khovantchina ........

MUSSORGSKY:    Khovantchina / Reizen, Leningrad Orchestra, Khaikine

This is the legendary first version of Khaikine, in Leningrad in 1946. The interpretation is very realistic, even tragic. In 1972 Khaikine was more controlled, with a faster tempo and showed more cohesion. The soloists (Ivan Khovansky, Galitsine, Shaklovity) of this 1946 version are inferior to those of 1972, but Preobrajenskaia is a remarkable Marfa and it seems obvious that she influenced Arkhipova.
However, the importance of this Leningrad version is centered in the extraordinary Mark Reizen, perhaps the greatest bass of the century. He had a voice incredibly powerful but beautiful, a noble phrasing, never emphatic. His Dosifei is the best I ever heard, including the excerpts recorded by Chaliapin.

The recording is very good for 1946 and includes several songs of Mussorgsky performed by Reizen.

[BachQ]

Val offers further insight into Songs and Arias from Mussorgsky's operas:

MUSSORGSKY:  Songs and Arias from his operas

This is the complement of the Khovantchina 1946. Reizen singing some of Mussorgsky's most famous songs. It is incredible, but in his recital in 1980 his voice seems the one of a young man (he was already 85 !).
Some songs are also performed by Preobraienskaia (the very touching "Hebrew song").
And the rest of the CD offers us the legendary voices of the Kirov in Leningrad (or St Petersburg). The thing that most impresses is the fact that all of them sing Mussorgsky in a sort of bel-canto, with a perfect style, like Pavel Andreyeff with a very clear and beautiful voice of baritone singing the aria of Chakloviti.

[BachQ]

Mussorgsky, Prelude to Khovanshchina, Zubin Mehta (berliner philharmoniker)

This is really superb ........

http://www.youtube.com/v/HDAbSCsqn30



Spectacular!

[Anne]

I can't hear it because my computer has something wrong with it.  The piece is also called "Dawn on the Moscow River." 

In the opera right after that gorgeous music comes the most horrible-sounding, loud chord.  It separates the soft gentle music of dawn arriving from the horrible things going on in people's lives under that sun.  Very effective.