I was 14 years old when I first heard the orchestral version of “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky. I attended a concert at the Vienna Philharmonic, and I was thrilled…
The original version of this music was composed for piano solo. It was Maurice Ravel who composed the amazing orchestration.
On this CD we hear Khatia Buniatishvili as she takes us back to the original version. The composer attended an exhibition of paintings done by several different artists. We get to hear a repeated theme representing the composer’s walk between paintings.
There are other famous selections on this new recording, such as Ravel’s “La Valse”, which opens as clouds part, and the image reveals a large hall in Vienna, where couples are dancing the Viennese waltz.
Here is Ms. Buniatishvili performing “The Old Caste”, from Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky:
