Search - Modest Mussorgsky, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philharmonia Orchestra of London :: Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Ashkenazy's Pictures, Superb

A. Gartner | Bloomfield Hills, MI United States | 05/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I attended Askenazy's performance last weekend with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra of his arrangement of Pictures, and it was electrifying. I immediately bought this CD and have been playing it non-stop ever since. Mussorgy's piano version, which is seldom heard, was wonderful to experience, but the orchestral re-interpretation was phenomenal, capturing what I experienced hearing Askenazy conduct this live. While most of us are familiar with the Ravel arrangement, and love the subtleties he worked into the Russian composer's creation, this remains essentially a Russian composition, not French Impressionist. Listen to Boris Godunov and you will hear the style of Mussorgy's compostions, and Askenazy recaptured this in his interpretation. While some might prefer the Ravel orchestration due to familiarity, this recording is enlightening in its bombast and depth of color that characterizes Mussorgy's music, and Askenazy's goal of revealing more of the composer was definately achieved."