Pictures At An Exhibition by Mussorgsky arr. Janos Kovacs

Pictures at an Exhibition is arguably the most famous work of Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881). It was originally a suite composed for piano, but has become best-known in the form of Maurice Ravel’s 1922 arrangement for orchestra.  

Mussorgsky wrote Pictures… in 1874 as an homage to his friend Viktor Hartmann, an architect and painter whose death had bereaved him. After Hartmann’s passing a large exhibition of his paintings was held in the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. Mussorgsky himself had lent pieces from his own collection to the exhibition, and after visiting it he felt inspired to write a musical piece that would resemble a tour of an art collection.   

This reflects in the way Pictures… is conceived: the visitor enters the exhibition space, looks at the first exhibit, then walks on, views the next one, and so forth. So the musical work is divided into ten movements, the “pictures” themselves, and a recurring “promenade” theme, that represents the stroll between the displays. The “pictures” have a very descriptive quality, compelling surprising visual imagery to the listener’s mind, while the “promenades” are sometimes leisurely, alert, or sad, echoing Mussorgsky’s state of mind upon seeing his departed friend’s artworks.