Revox Master Tape, MUSSORGSKY - PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION & NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Igor Markevitch, Conductor

Modest P. Mussorgsky (1839–1881) wrote "Pictures at an Exhibition" in 1874 for piano, inspired by an exhibition held in memory of the painter and architect Viktor Hartmann, who had been a close friend of Mussorgsky for several years.
Mussorgsky was devastated when the painter suddenly died of a heart condition in the summer of 1873. "What a pain!" he wrote in a letter. "Oh, unfortunate Russian art! This stupid fool, Death, mows everything down without even asking if his miserable visit is desired. If only talents could grow like mushrooms!" The critic Vladimir Stasov organized an exhibition of Hartmann's watercolors and drawings, which Mussorgsky visited with a heavy heart. The pictures made a deep impression on him and inspired him to write a series of ten pieces, introduced and connected by the recurring "Promenade" interlude.

1. Gnomus: This picture shows a gnome limping awkwardly on misshapen legs.
2. Il vecchio castello: A troubadour sings his song in front of a medieval Italian castle.
3. Tuileries: Children arguing while playing in one of the alleys of the Tuileries Garden in Paris.
4. Bydlo: A lumbering Polish oxcart rumbling along gradually on its monotonously rolling wheels.
5. Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks: This piece is based on a drawing by Hartmann depicting chicks hatching.
6. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle: This scene shows a discussion between a poor Jew and a rich Jew.
7. Limoges, the Market Place: Amidst the busy hustle and bustle of the Limoges market, this piece expresses the chattering and arguing of the market women.
8. Catacombae: In this picture, Hartmann had depicted himself exploring the Parisian catacombs with a lantern. Mussorgsky noted in the manuscript: "The creative spirit of the late Hartmann leads me to the skulls and invokes them, and the skulls begin to glow softly from within."
9. The Hut of Baba Yaga: A clock designed in the form of a hut on chicken legs, representing the *izbushka* of the dreaded witch from Russian folklore. Mussorgsky incorporates the witch's frantic flight in her mortar into his music.
10. The Great Gate of Kiev: This drawing by Hartmann shows his design for a city gate leading into the city of Kiev. The gate appears in the grandiose, Old Russian style, with a dome in the shape of a Slavic helmet.

Wolfgang Börner (Original LP text, 1974)

Repertoire classic, stripped of its patina

Igor Markevitch enjoys a legendary reputation. He was successful as a conductor of leading orchestras as well as a composer and university lecturer. His students include Daniel Barenboim, Herbert Blomstedt, and Wolfgang Sawallisch. In his autobiography, A Life in Music, Barenboim recalls that Igor Markevitch taught him a "personal, highly individual style of conducting." In his Salzburg course, he said he was "completely filled with the clarity of sound, the clarity of rhythm, and the clarity of gesture."

A witness to that time in the orchestra's history is principal cellist Jürnjakob Timm, a permanent member of the Gewandhausorchester since 1973 and a substitute even before then. Looking back, he spontaneously remembers Markevitch’s "very good conducting technique" as "an impressive experience." He says it was "through sheer ability" (and not as a tyrant at the podium) that the conductor conveyed his ideas to the orchestra. His working method was a solid compromise between the extremes of the rehearsal fetishist and the evening conductor. After a thorough rehearsal of the work to be performed, "making music with him in the evening was highly intense."

Dirk Stöve

Label: Eterna

REVIEW

Claus Müller from audiotapereview.com rated this tape 5/5 in the music category and 5/5 in the sound category.
For the full review, please visit: https://www.audiotapereview.com/0602024mussorgskipictures

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