Pictures at an Exhibition; or, a new CD for consideration

I must confess that I rather like Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. I stress that I like Mussorgsky’s version rather than Ravel’s rather more famous orchestration of the work. Try as I might to enjoy the Gallic transcription for orchestra, I find it too opaque and heavy-handed and not truly representative of the work; I hear a showpiece not art. I may occasionally listen to the work, with Andre Previn’s version suiting my tastes nicely, but usually I pass. I can only imagine what the other orchestrations of the work sound like.

The original piano version, on the other hand, is an underrated and underrecorded work. Oh, sure, some titans on the ivory have recorded the work, but not nearly enough. Compare the available recordings of this work to the available recordings of, say, Chopin’s Scherzos. Anyhoo, Evgeny Kissin recently recorded and RCA just released a not so unsatisfying version; all fans of this work should snap it up. This is the fourth version now in my collection, the others being Byron Janis’ top-flight Mercury recording from 1961, Benno Moisewitsch’s incredible 1940’s recording, and Alfred Brendel’s 1986 account. Yes, I know Richter is absent from my list. That is so for a reason. (Me no like.) How does Kissin stand up? Well, he does not blow away the competition (no surprise), but his version takes co-honors with the Janis as my favorite, with Moisewitsch not far behind. (Brendel, on the other hand, is less than satisfactory.)

What of the performance? Well, the different appearances of the Promenade are all handled deftly and appropriately. I did have some concern during Gnomus, with Kissin allowing himself some unusual pauses in the piece. The device did not quite work. After this, though, there are no doubts as to the greatness of this performance. Il vecchio castello enjoys some mesmerizing left-hand work throughout, quite unlike any other version I’ve heard. Bydlo opens in a brooding, powerful manner so befitting the subject. The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks is dispatched in a fast, sure, and delightful way. Baba Yoga displays some fearsome virtuosity and power, as well as some more unusual pauses. This time the pauses work. And the finale: Grand, to say the least! Here is the Great Gate of Kiev played with the grandeur it deserves. Kissin’s playing makes the piano sound as much like an ensemble of instruments as possible, and the result is effective and inspiring. Tremendous stuff.

The disc is filled out with a pleasant little obscurity – The Lark – by Mikhail Glinka as arranged by Mili Balakirev, as well as a quite effective Busoni transcription of Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C for organ. The main work is far better than these works of course, but I will return to these pieces, too, the Bach especially (no surprise). To cap off the superior music making is stunning sound. Whew.