Modeste Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition was a piece composed for the sole purpose of immortalizing his friend, the famous Russian artist Viktor Hartmann and the images that he created. This piece created by Mussorgsky become one of his famous piano compositions that to this day many composers perform and orchestrate it. This piano piece was orchestrated by none other than the well known french composer Maurice Ravel, who turned this already influential piano piece into a remarkable orchestration.
The video, “Pictures of what? Mussorgsky: ‘Pictures From an Exhibition’ was very interesting because not only did it explain how Ravel created the famous orchestration of Mussorgsky's piano piece, but also explains the process of how Mussorgsky …show more content…
The “Promenade” theme acts like a transition as Mussorgsky moves from one piece of art to another. It’s like a peaceful stroll through an art gallery, but contains some of the hesitation that comes with moving on to view another piece of art. I can relate to this because in an art museum there are some pieces of art that you just want to stare out making sure you observe every detail. Then comes the gnome-shaped nutcracker, “Gnomus” this movement is haunting and is primarily made up of minor chords giving it an eerie and dark tone. Then another “Promenade” movement leads us to “The Old Castle” where the sound is medieval and ancient because of the alto-saxophone used, the piece sounds melancholy because the castle that was once so grand, now just stands still. There is then another transition to the next piece, “Tuileries”, is soft and light and sounds innocent and playful. This is because of the back and forth between the strings and the woodwinds primarily the flutes. After, “Tuileries,” dive right into “Bydlo,” without a transition, this movement sounds more heavy and slow because the start the piece out, but overtime the strings and percussion take this movement from sounding heavy to very nationalistic like a march. Then another transition occurs before the next movement, “Ballad of the chicks in Their Shell,” this movement sounds playful and innocent like “Tuileries” because it includes strings and flutes to create that sound. “Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle,” is a mix between deep heavy sounds and high-pitched but muted sounds produced by the trumpets. This movement seems like an argument between two people and the deep heavy sounds eventually end the piece. “The Market Place at Limoges,” sounds very lively, but very chaotic as well, Mussorgsky definitely captures the sounds of a marketplace in this piece. “The Catacombs,” starts