Pictures & Songs

Featuring

Benjamin Moser
Modest Mussorgsky
George Gershwin
Earl Wild
Sergei Rachmaninoff

Did you know?

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Performer Biography

Earl Wild, whose transcriptions are featured on this album, knew Sergei Rachmaninoff personally and was considered an outstanding interpreter of his works.

Composition History

Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition was inspired by a commemorative exhibition of over 400 works by his deceased friend, architect Viktor Hartmann, in 1874.

Critical Reception

Maurice Ravel's orchestral version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is more frequently performed in concert halls today than Mussorgsky's original piano version.

Composer Biography

George Gershwin composed over 500 songs for musicals and films during his short life, many of which became enduring popular hits.

Performer Biography

Benjamin Moser, the pianist on this album, won the prize for the best interpretation of Tchaikovsky's music and the Audience Prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 2007.

Album & Artwork

The album's concept originated in 2016, intended as a 'Volume 2' of Russian repertoire to mark the 10th anniversary of Benjamin Moser's prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition.

Compositional Technique

Earl Wild, an American pianist and composer, created Virtuoso Etudes based on Gershwin's songs, packaging technical challenges into musical pieces in the tradition of Chopin's études.