Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition - Borodin: Symphony No. 2 & Polovtsian Dances
1/4/2008, 21 Tracks, 1:12:06
Featuring
Sir Simon Rattle
Berliner Philharmoniker
Modest Mussorgsky
Alexander Borodin
Did you know?
1/7
Composition History
The Polovtsian Dances from Borodin's opera Prince Igor were orchestrated in a chaotic, last-minute effort by Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Anatoly Lyadov, who worked with pencils and hung the sheets to dry like laundry.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The composers Borodin and Mussorgsky sought novel and direct means of expression, intentionally avoiding German standards of technical sophistication in their music.
Composition History
Mussorgsky's piano suite, Pictures at an Exhibition, was conceived as a tribute to his friend Viktor Hartmann, an architect, artist, and illustrator, after an exhibition of Hartmann's work in 1874.
Composer Biography
Alexander Borodin's public career as a distinguished professor of chemistry often prevented him from completing his larger musical projects without assistance from colleagues like Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov.
Cultural Impact
The vibrant musical legacy of Borodin and Mussorgsky was seen in France as a crucial counterweight to the 'Wagnerian mal du siècle' (Wagnerian sickness of the century) affecting many composers.
Historical Context
In 1867, critic Vladimir Stasov coined the term Moguchaya kuchka (meaning 'mighty little heap') for a group of self-taught nationalist composers, also known as The Five, who aimed to create a genuinely Russian style of composition.
Cultural Impact
In the 1930s, Borodin and Mussorgsky served as crucial archetypes for Russian-Soviet musicians navigating Stalin's official credo of 'socialist realism'.
