Mussorgsky / Ravel - Pictures At An Exhibition [Gergiev-London Philharmonic Orchestra]
Notice how i call this a Ravel composition, and not merely by Mussorgsky?, i don't think Ravel gets enough credit here, his contribution isn't merely to put some colour into a black & white photograph, he has to make major decisions of orchestral colouring and instrumentation, the end product is half his, this is the first time this disc appears in my Blog, and only the second time i've played it, there used to be a time i felt that Pictures At An Exhibition was a bit pandering to Classical novice, nice fun tunes, but serious classical music?, now i feel a lot warmer towards this composition, there's real sophistication there too.
Valery Gergiev is Russian, he's now 61, he made this recording back in 1989, it's amazing that some of these digital recordings are now almost 'half a lifetime away' for the Artists that recorded them!, the front cover photograph [by Fernando van Teylingen], is really artistic, showing Gergiev dressed up, baton in hand [though i believe he now rarely uses one], the props of a chair and music stand, love the orange shadow, and the box with the letting is fantastic, very well laid out.
Pictures At An Exhibition consists of ten pictures, but there's fifteen tracks when you factor in the promenades between pictures, so i liked numbers 1-2, 4, 7 & 13-15 the best, and it was the last two tracks that i felt were the best, Mussorgsky seems to build up the whole thing for a real finale, so here's my feeling on these two pieces,
The Hut On Fowl's Legs [3:28] - After the mystery and quiet of 'Cum Mortuis In Lingua Mortua', 'The Hut On Fowls Legs' can sound like a bunch of yobs bursting in on a candlelight vigil, the drums break the silence, but it's the brass that really do the destructive work [0:23+], strings are frantic, strangely enough there's this central respite [1:09-1:34], the flute gently undulates while the bassoon mumbles away, i like the way the xylophone comes in to give it colour, but the yobs come back to their desecration [2:26+].
The Great Gate Of Kiev [5:24] - Which culminates without a break, straight into 'The Great Gate Of Kiev', the brass fanfare in splendour, it's a great moment that gives satisfying musical release [0:00-0:57], but then strangely there's a lull of peace, of a woodwind plainchant [0:58-1:31], before the brass splendour comes back again [1:32-2:03], only for the woodwind plainchant to come back [2:03-2:35], and then the bells toll [2:35+] what a great idea, it's almost a funeral procession that slowly develops into a frenzy, i love the glockenspiel here, a blaze of brass glory, the very end is well done, with an extra sense of regal fanfare [4:41+], a nice loud and satisfying end.
Here's Gergiev conducting these last two pictures on YouTube.
Valery Gergiev is Russian, he's now 61, he made this recording back in 1989, it's amazing that some of these digital recordings are now almost 'half a lifetime away' for the Artists that recorded them!, the front cover photograph [by Fernando van Teylingen], is really artistic, showing Gergiev dressed up, baton in hand [though i believe he now rarely uses one], the props of a chair and music stand, love the orange shadow, and the box with the letting is fantastic, very well laid out.
Pictures At An Exhibition consists of ten pictures, but there's fifteen tracks when you factor in the promenades between pictures, so i liked numbers 1-2, 4, 7 & 13-15 the best, and it was the last two tracks that i felt were the best, Mussorgsky seems to build up the whole thing for a real finale, so here's my feeling on these two pieces,
The Hut On Fowl's Legs [3:28] - After the mystery and quiet of 'Cum Mortuis In Lingua Mortua', 'The Hut On Fowls Legs' can sound like a bunch of yobs bursting in on a candlelight vigil, the drums break the silence, but it's the brass that really do the destructive work [0:23+], strings are frantic, strangely enough there's this central respite [1:09-1:34], the flute gently undulates while the bassoon mumbles away, i like the way the xylophone comes in to give it colour, but the yobs come back to their desecration [2:26+].
The Great Gate Of Kiev [5:24] - Which culminates without a break, straight into 'The Great Gate Of Kiev', the brass fanfare in splendour, it's a great moment that gives satisfying musical release [0:00-0:57], but then strangely there's a lull of peace, of a woodwind plainchant [0:58-1:31], before the brass splendour comes back again [1:32-2:03], only for the woodwind plainchant to come back [2:03-2:35], and then the bells toll [2:35+] what a great idea, it's almost a funeral procession that slowly develops into a frenzy, i love the glockenspiel here, a blaze of brass glory, the very end is well done, with an extra sense of regal fanfare [4:41+], a nice loud and satisfying end.
Here's Gergiev conducting these last two pictures on YouTube.
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