Search - Modest Mussorgsky, Ottorino Respighi, Leonard Bernstein :: Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bald Mountain

An enchanting, surprisingly personal 'Pictures'--one of the

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 06/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two things conspired to keep me from discovering this one-of-a-kind 'Pictures at an Exhibition' sooner. First, there are enough great recordings to go around from Reiner, Karajan, Stokowksi--name your own. Second, I assumed that Bernstien would conduct this thrice-familiar piece simply as a commercial duty. I was wrong: this is the most personal performance among the great ones. Bernstein has ideas and feelings in every section, and with the NY Phil. at its virtuosic best, the whole thing is an enchanting discovery.



Bernstein's secret is that he goes to the heart of the music rather than just conducting Ravel's brilliant orchestration. As a result, we feel we are looking at separate paintings on the wall, just as Mussorgsky intended, each with its own flavor, more often than not tinged with melancholy (after all, Mussorgsky's artist friend had died). Compared to this account, all the others I own seem a bit shallow and glittery--this one is pure soul.



The sound is impeccable in the current remastering, and this time around we get as fillers a thrilling Night on Bald Mountain that gives Stokowski's a run for its money, plus a Respighi Pines of Rome crackling with electricity (but in rather shrill sound).



Famous as Bernstein is, I feel I'm recommending an underdog here, because the British critics have totally overlooked these readings. Most listeners automatically reach for Reiner's famous accounts of all three works. I hope there's room for Bernstein, because his performances have more originality to offer.



"