CATALYST

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Modest P. Mussorgskj Pictures of an exhibition

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INTRODUCTION Victor Hartmann, the young Russian architect for whom Mussorgskj felt a deep and more than brotherly love, died early in 1874. His death delt a cruel blow to the musician who at once thought of commemorating his friend by composing some significant piece of music. The opportunity presented itself in the spring of 1874, when the Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersburg organized an exhibition of Hartmann's paintings and drawings. It was then that the idea occurred to Mussorgskj to interpret in music a few of the more outstanding works exhibited, and thus the Pictures of an Exhibition came into being.

Throughout the extensive range of 19th century pianoforte composition these Pictures show an unmistakably distinct character of their own, occupying a unique position both for their absolute novelty and independence of form, and for their splendid wealth of fantasy. The title might lead us to expect something like programmatic music, or at least music created from inspiration extraneous to it, but on the contrary, we find ourselves before a work where music reigns supreme, and which through its refined and at the same time primitive accents, alone constitutes the core of the whole composition.

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STRUCTURE The Pictures consist of a series of 10 pieces, each of which derives its name from the particular picture, the impression of which the Author attempted to render in his music. The Introduction and the Interludes, called Promenade, are based on a musical theme with variations and represents the Author moving among pictures. TheGate of Kiev crowns the whole in a splendid finale, and works up to that apotheosis so characteristic of the Russian musical theatre: a powerful chorus sums up the whole, taking the theme of the Promenade to its climax conclusion.
Cfr. Alfredo Casella, preface to Quadri di una esposizione, Ricordi, Milano, 1995.
Promenade theme Go to index