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Pictures at an Exhibition
Modest Mussorgski had a painter friend called Victor Hartmann,
and when he died, his friends made an exhibition of his best work. The
excited Mussorgsky decided to immortalize his friend's memory by means
of a "musical exhibition" of pictures for piano, describing the
artist's paintings. Indeed, the composer designated "Pictures at an
Exhibition" for the piano, and Maurice Ravel is the one who orchestrated
the piece for a symphonic ensemble in 1923. This arrangement is the one
performed nowadays in concert halls.
 What
links the "pictures" is a repeating musical section called "promenade".
This section describes walking around in the exhibition, wandering between
the pictures. The "promenade" is one of the best-known musical
pieces in history, and it reminds us more of a formal, royal horn than
a description of innocent walking in an exhibition. It is a very "Russian"
section, and very typical of Mussorgsky's composition.
The ten pictures at the exhibition are:
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Gnome
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Describes a gnome walking in daring vanity.
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The Old Castle
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A wandering singer (a troubadour) sings a song of heroism
to an ancient castle, praising its glorious days.
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Tuileries
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Children's games in a park in Paris.
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Bydlo
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A rural wagon in Poland, coming and vanishing into the
horizon.
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Ballet of the Little
Chicks
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According to a sketch Hartmann drew for a ballet group.
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Samuel Goldenburg and Schumyle
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A caricature of two Polish Jews, one rich and the other
a pauper.
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The Marketplace at Limoges
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Noisy, haggling housewives in the famous marketplace.
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Catacombs
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A cemetery in Paris, and the atmosphere of death.
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Hut of Baba Yaga
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The fire of a mythological Russian witch named Baba Yaga.
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The Great Gates at Kiev
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A gate of a church Hartmann, who was also an architect,
designed for Kiev's Cathedral.
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