Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
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L'Auditori Lepant 150, 08013 Barcelona

Image courtesy of L'Auditori.
Renowned organist Émile Bernard experiments with colonizing the sound space in works such as the Divertissement for Wind Ensemble. Structured in four dynamic and contrasting movements, the piece is imbued with a lyricism that transports the listener to rural scenes, in which the presence of traditional folk music can also be perceived. A year later, the French composer dedicated a violin concerto to Pablo Sarasate, which he premiered at the Paris Conservatoire.
Although more celebrated today, it is a little-known fact that Modest Mussorgsky intended to title the suite that has become known as Pictures at an Exhibition after the name of its dedicatee (Hartmann). Conceived for piano, this series of fantasy scenarios invokes both beauty and its sinister underside in a thrilling journey through the margins of unreality. Much lauded in Maurice Ravel’s orchestral version, the transcription for double wind quintet yields some of its most lucid and intriguing passages.
Program
- Emile Bernard: Divertissement for Wind Ensemble, op. 36 (1894) 15′
- Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (1874) 35′
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