Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period, celebrated for a boldly national voice that stood apart from Western convention. His music turns repeatedly to Russian history, folklore and the vivid colour of everyday speech.
His best-known works include the opera Boris Godunov, the tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, and the piano cycle Pictures at an Exhibition, a gallery of character pieces written in memory of the artist Viktor Hartmann.
For decades listeners mainly encountered these scores in editions completed or polished by others. The original versions have since regained their place, revealing the raw force and speech-like melody that define his style.
Modest Mussorgsky is featured on the following titles
Pictures at an Exhibition
Stephen Savage’s first Move release pairs Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition with Liszt’s Two Legends and three Debussy piano works, including the less often heard Masques and … d’un cahier d’esquisses … beside L’isle joyeuse.
Pictures
In Pictures, Ian Holtham leads the listener through Romantic piano masterpieces: Mussorgsky’s gallery cycle Pictures at an Exhibition, Schumann’s masked-ball Carnaval, and Tchaikovsky’s rustic Doumka.
Compositions by Modest Mussorgsky also appear on
Cutetudes
Cutetudes (‘cute’ + ‘études’) is a set of twenty short, classically related and humorous piano pieces Julian Yu wrote on commission from pianist Ke Lin.
Pictures at an Exhibition: Reflected and Refracted
Unique orchestral arrangements of Pictures at an Exhibition, Glière’s Coloratura Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, Glinka’s The Nightingale, and two movements from Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons.
Organ at an Exhibition
West Australian organist Dominic Perissinotto’s first solo Move disc pairs Guilmant, Schumann and Mussorgsky on the Grand Organ of the Basilica of St Patrick, Fremantle.
Yes, It Rings a Bell!
Adrian Tien takes Australia’s National Carillon in Canberra through a wide-ranging programme: Bach and Gershwin, folk airs, carillon originals, and music from some of today’s finest carillon composers.
Victoria Victoria
A double CD of Victoria’s 150th Gala Choral Concert, given in the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, in 1985. A thousand-voice choir and orchestra under Richard Divall frame Léon Caron’s prize-winning Victoria Cantata of 1880.
Victoria Brass Live
A top-class Australian brass band under Matthew van Emmerik in a full, varied programme of innovative repertoire: two world premieres, three Australasian premieres, and some well-loved classics.