Mussorgsky was good friends with the painter Vladimir Hartmann, who tragically died at the peak of his career, aged just thirty-nine. The loss of not just a close friend but an artistic inspiration had a deep effect on Mussorgsky. By way of a tribute to Hartmann, he composed a set of piano pieces: Pictures at an Exhibition, inspired by an exhibition of the artist’s work, which Mussorgsky had visited after his friend’s death.

The suite consists of musical depictions of 10 of Hartmann’s paintings, interspersed with a recurring ‘Promenade’ theme, or intermezzo that represents a visitor—in this case, the composer himself—strolling through the exhibition. Mussorgsky acknowledged in one of his letters, that the powerful nature of the intermezzi reflect his own large physique!

This piece is thought to be based on a watercolour depiction of an Italian Castle, but as Hartmann often placed an appropriate human figure in his architectural renderings to suggest scale, it is believed that the piece describes a troubadour singing a song before a medieval castle.

Approximate Performance Duration: 4' 30"

Skill Level: Challenging

Instrumentation
Percussion 1:Tubular Bells
Percussion 2:Xylophone
Percussion 3:Vibraphone
Percussion 4:Marimba
Percussion 5:Marimba
Timpani

ISMN: 979-0-708127-29-1