The "Pictures at an Exhibition" was composed in just three weeks in 1874 as a homage to Mussorgsky's close friend, the architect and designer Viktor Hartmann, who had died in 1873.
Cultural Impact
The "Pictures at an Exhibition" has inspired numerous orchestrations and arrangements, including a famous version by Maurice Ravel and a concept album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Recording & Production
The album cover features Ilya Repin's painting "Gopak" (1927), which is a vibrant homage to life and the Ukrainian dance, connecting to Mussorgsky's unfinished opera "The Fair at Sorochinsky."
Composer Biography
Mussorgsky was an excellent pianist, reportedly playing Liszt before his tenth birthday.
Compositional Technique
The "Pictures at an Exhibition" cycle is linked by a "Promenade" theme, which is proudly pentatonic and represents Mussorgsky himself walking between the different paintings.
Composition History
Mussorgsky's piano work "Une Larme" was written just weeks before his death in December 1880, serving as an "ultima verba" from a desperate composer.
Composer Biography
Modest Mussorgsky, born in 1839, was the second son of a family believed to be direct descendants of Rørik, the Viking king who founded the Russian Empire.
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