MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


CD REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

alternatively
CD: AmazonUK AmazonUS
Download: Classicsonline


Modest Petrovich MUSSORGSKY (1839-1881)
Pictures at an Exhibition (original piano version - 1874) [33:34] (orchestrations compiled by Leonard Slatkin):-
1) Promenade (D. Wilson Ochoa (b.1964)) [1:31]
2) Gnomus (Sergey Gorchakov (1905-1976)) [2:32]
3) Promenade (Walter Goehr (1903-1976)) [0:53]
4) Il vecchio castello (Emile Naoumoff (b. 1962)) [3:57]
5) Promenade (Geert Van Keulen (b. 1943)) [0:31]
6) Tuileries (Geert Van Keulen) [1:02]
7) Bydlo (Vladimir Ashkenazy (b. 1937)) [2:45]
8) Promenade (Carl Simpson (b. 1955)) [0:43]
9) Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks (Lucien Cailliet (1891-1985))[1:16]
10) Two Polish Jews, one rich, one poor (Sir Henry Wood (1869-1944)) [2:03]
11) Promenade (Lawrence Leonard (b. 1926)) [1:30]
12) Limoges, Le Marché (Leo Funtek (1885-1956)) [1:26]
13) Catacombae (John Boyd (b. 1944)) [1:48]
14) Con mortuis in lingua mortua (Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)) [1:43]
15) The Hut on Fowl’s Legs (Baba Yaga) (Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977)) [3:17]
16) The Bogatyr Gate at Kiev (Douglas Gamley (1924-1998)) [6:36]
Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major (1849, rev. 1853, 1856) [
19:45]
The Star Spangled Banner (arr. Rob Mathes) [3:44]
Peng Peng (piano)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Nashville Symphony/Leonard Slatkin
rec. live, Laura Turner Concert Hall, Nashville USA, 21 June 2007
NAXOS 8.570716 [57:14] 

 

Experience Classicsonline


The history of Liszt’s first Piano Concerto is a convoluted one.  Sketched out in 1832 but only orchestrated in 1849 and revised in 1853 and 1856 before publication in 1857. It is in a novel form with all the movements linked by several themes.  The inclusion of the triangle caused the critic Hanslick to describe it as a ‘triangle concerto’.
 

This is a ‘live’ performance by the, then, 14 year old Peng Peng.  It opens strongly with an orchestral tutti leading to the first piano entry, played confidently and with great aplomb.  This young player can negotiate the fiendish writing for the piano with an easy confidence which one only finds in the young.  He plays the loud passages with a force belying his age, but also plays the quiet lyrical sections with great delicacy and feeling. Orchestra and conductor offer solid support.

The Pictures at an Exhibition is not the usual Ravel orchestration of 1922, but a selection of movements from some of the more than 30 orchestral arrangements of this famous piano work: see the list at the end on this article.  Leonard Slatkin has performed this musicological ‘game’ at two Henry Wood Promenade concerts in London; the first in 1991 and the second in 2004.  For those who heard these on the BBC, this is a recording of the 2004 selection, with the exception of the first promenade, which was then by Byrwec Ellison, but here by D. Wilson Ochoa.  It is interesting listening to these arrangements how some composers are faithful to the score and spirit of the pieces, and others who are almost cavalier in their treatment. 

The first Promenade has an air of expectancy and almost suppressed excitement beginning with the woodwind and including pizzicato strings, reserving the brass for the last statement of the theme. 

Gnomus (orch. Sergey Gorchakov, 1954) Gorchakov is the only Soviet representative and it is a relatively straightforward rendition, keeping the repeat identical to the first statement where Ravel employs some elaboration. 

Promenade 2 (orch. Walter Goehr, 1942) This arrangement is for a smaller orchestra so this promenade features solo strings, woodwind and brass. 

Il vecchio castello (orch. Emile Naoumoff, 1974) This is one of the pictures where the arranger has taken liberties and it is scored for piano and orchestra. The theme has been given to a variety of instruments in the various arrangements for this lilting Italian sicilienne (alto saxophone (Ravel), cor anglais (Stokowski) or muted trumpet (Gorchakov). Here the alto flute launches the melody; but the real fascination comes with the imitative, canonic lines added for solo piano. In this recording the piano is somewhat distant, sounding like an echo, which suits it well, unlike at the Prom performance where it was so prominent it just sounded bizarre – as if the pianist couldn’t count the bars! 

Promenade 3 – Tuileries (orch. Geert van Keulen, 1992)  The previous dreamy picture is interrupted by this masculine promenade, pulling the listener out of the reverie.  Then into the Tuileries with the woodwind very much in their element as the chattering children. 

Bydlo (orch. Vladimir Ashkenazy, 1982)  The Polish ox cart thunders into view and Ashkenazy makes his impact with four horns in full throated unison emphasizing the tread of the ox labouring to draw its load. 

Promenade 4 (orch. Carl Simpson, 1997)  A very conventional minor mode rendition of the promenade.

Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks (orch. Lucien Cailliet, 1937) this is treated very exuberantly, with woodblock, rattle and a flutter-tonguing blast from the trumpet. 

Two Polish Jews, One Rich, One Poor (orch. Henry Wood, 1915) Henry Wood withdrew his arrangement after he had heard Ravel’s.  The rich Jew is grand and well-upholstered in the piano version, as he is here, with fortissimo double basses and lower woodwind; the poor Jew is trembling or stammering rather than whining as in Ravel’s unforgettable solo for muted trumpet. 

Promenade 5 (orch. Lawrence Leonard, 1977) This Promenade was left out by Ravel and is at the halfway point. This arrangement for piano and orchestra made in 1975, 16 years before Naoumoff’s, is refreshingly original in its orchestral colours.

Limoges. Le marché (orch. Leo Funtek, 1922)  This is very much in the same vein as Ravel with the addition of a glittering battery of percussion. 

Catacombae (orch. John Boyd, 1986) This arrangement embodies the Grand Guignol horror of the Catacombs, which leads into the next picture: 

Cum mortuis in lingua mortua (orch. Maurice Ravel, 1922) No one has captured this in quite the same way as Ravel and it is fitting that he is represented by one of his best arrangements. 

The Hut on Hen’s Legs (orch. Leopold Stokowski, 1939)  In this arrangement, Stokowski takes liberties with the score and the four trumpets and eight horns seem to have wandered in from another piece; he does very much his own thing. All very exciting. 

The Great Gate at Kiev (orch. Douglas Gamley, 1980)  It is difficult to find a final movement which can match, or even surpass that of Ravel, but here is one by Douglas Gamley who throws several ‘extras’ into the mix,  a peel of bells, a chorus and organ to deal with the ‘church melody’ and, plenty of bells at the end for this most Russian of finales. 

The playing of these arrangements is very polished as one would expect from this quarter and the engineers have captured this ‘live’ event with remarkable clarity.  This is an interesting collection and throws into relief how diverse the arrangements are.  It also whets the appetite to hear some of these arrangements in their entirety; and gives us a useful ‘party game’ playing familiar music in an unfamiliar guise. 

The arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner came in response to a commission from the National Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Leonard Slatkin.  It takes the form of a eulogy on the tragedy of 9/11, but is not in any way tragic, it has a confidence and optimism which could only come from the American people.

Arther Smith

see also Review by Ian Lace


Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition - other arrangements:
 
* Mikhail Tushmalov (ca. 1886; three “pictures” and four Promenades omitted)
* Henry Wood (1915; four Promenades omitted)
* Leo Funtek (1922; all Promenades included)
* Maurice Ravel (1922; the fifth Promenade omitted)
* Giuseppe Becce (1922; for “salon-orchestra”)
* Leonidas Leonardi (1924)
* Lucien Cailliet (1937)
* Leopold Stokowski (1939; Tuileries, fifth Promenade and Limoges omitted)
* Walter Goehr (1942; Gnomus omitted; includes a subsidiary part for piano)
* Sergei Gorchakov (1954)
* Daniel Walter (1959)
* Helmut Brandenburg (ca. 1970)
* Emile Naoumoff (ca. 1974, for piano and orchestra)
* Zdenek Macal (ca. 1977)
* Lawrence Leonard (1977; in concerto style for piano and orchestra)
* Douglas Gamley (1980)
* Vladimir Ashkenazy (1982)
* Pung Siu-Wen (ca. 1983; for orchestra of Chinese instruments)
* John Boyd (1986)
* Alan Gout (1990; for chamber orchestra)
* Thomas Wilbrandt (1992)
* Geert van Keulen (1992
* Djong Victorin Yu (1993; amended Ravel version)
* Byrwec Ellison (1995)
* Mekong Delta (1997; for group and orchestra)
* Carl Simpson (1997)
* Julian Yu (2002; for chamber orchestra)
* Michael Allen (2007)
* Hanspeter Gmur (date unknown)
* Hidemaro Konoye (date unknown)
* Misao Kitazume (date unknown)


 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.