Musorgsky's favorite work

[Izabella]

Hi there...
Lately we're talking about our favorite works so I wondered wich work composed by Musorgsky is your favorite?Did anyone played his works?
Right now I'm listening the Pictures at an exibition, but I love his Night on the naked hill(Sorry if it's called difrently in English I just translated how it's called in Croatian)

So...name you favorite piece...

Yours respectfully

[giovannimusica]

Hi Izabella,

You must mean *Night On Bald Mountain*. Sheer Drama is that piece Mussorgsky's opera *Boris Godunoff* is my favorite opus. Its almost like taking in a part of Russian History Seriously, I feel transported to another level when listening to that piece. Wagner's *Parsifal* has the same effect on me. I have performed Mussorgsky's *Pictures At An Exhibition* transcribed for Organ and its quite effective, especially if you have a few 32' stops on the Organ.

Cheers,

Giovanni

[Izabella]

Hi Giovanni...

Yeah,it the "Night on bald mountain" it's hard when you don't know the name of the piece exept ov your own language....I'll try to avoid mistakes like that in the future...
Boris Godunov...I haven't heard that since hihg school,I'll have to find it somewhere....

Yours

[giovannimusica]

Hi Izabella,

Don't be hard on yourself about the title of the piece - you are amongst friends who wish only to help, not to harm. You have much on your plate as a student/researcher and musician. Have you ever heard Tchaikovskii's opera *Mazeppa*? It has some really moving and patriotic melodies. Tchaikovskii really describes quite well the routing of the Swedes from Russia. I have some Swedish blood in me but I take no offense at Russia's treatment of the Swedish Military. Be well and do good work - I'm rooting for you

Your forum friend,

Giovanni

[rojo]

Well, I really like his 'Night on Bald Mountain' also. My favourite would have to be 'Pictures at an Exhibition,' 'The Great Gate of Kiev' in particular. Been learning that one on the piano...lots of octaves! Must sound pretty impressive on the organ; I`ll bet it was a wonderful performance, giovanni.

[giovannimusica]

Hi rojo,

The performance went well but I felt that I took the *Baba Yaga* movement too fast.

There is a nifty organ recording of *Pictures at an Exhibition* by Jean Guillou:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ode=xm2&n=5174

It'll knock your socks off

The recording inspired me to tackle it.

Cheers,

Giovanni

p.s. I'll bet that the music library at McGill University has the aforementioned recording - check it out.

[rojo]

Hi giovanni,

Thanks for that; unfortunately, for some reason, my pc doesn`t play the excerpts at amazon. Which is weird, because it plays music from other sites, using the windows media player. Go figure. It`s quite annoying, really. Anyway, when I get it fixed I`ll be sure to check it out. (Would prefer not to have to shlep to the library... )

[giovannimusica]

Hi rojo,

Sorry to hear that your pc won't play the samples on the amazon site - my guesstimation? Your browser might have some *issues* with the amazon site. Am I correct in my assumption that you are on the piano faculty at McGill? If my memory serves me, there was a conference a couple of years ago at McGill where Jean Guillou played organ and gave a lecture or two about organs in general and the organ builder Cavaille-Coll in particular. Is the McGill Library in a *seedy* part of town? I would warmly encourage you to get your hands on that recording.

Blessings and Peace,

Giovanni

[rojo]

Hey giovanni,

I have students who do exams at the McGill Conservatory, (they`re coming up soon; in the process of getting my students ready,) but you have to pay to be an affiliated teacher there. As I am a poor teacher, teaching privately, I chose not to fork over the money at this time. Maybe when I`m richer.

McGill is a fine academic establishment, and definitely not in a 'seedy' part of town; I`m just lazy. Because it`s not exactly next door (hard to park there.) They have wonderful guests and conferences on a regular basis, which I would be interested in checking out, but I don`t seem to find the time to get around to it. It`s a shame, really...

[giovannimusica]

Hey rojo,

I sang with a group from Sweden at McGill in 1988. I thought maybe the Library was in a different place. I had a friend who attended McGill many, many years ago. I believe she did her Doctorate in Humanities there - I forget the topic of her Dissertation So, I do know McGill to be one of the finer Universities in the Northern Hemisphere.

Cheers,

Giovanni

[rojo]

Cool- did you sing in Pollack Hall?

Actually, they very recently constructed a new building, I believe to house the music department library etc. Haven`t been there yet...

Gee, this thread is getting fairly off topic- so I`ll mention that I really enjoy hearing 'Pictures at an Exhibition' played by orchestra as well, as arranged by Ravel...

[giovannimusica]

Hi rojo,

The Ravel version of the *Exhibition* is cool
If my memory serves me correctly I believe it was Pollack Hall.
Best wishes to you as you prepare your students for their music exams.

Cheers,

Giovanni

[rojo]

Thanks, gio

[Todd]

I love Mussorgsky, and find it essentially impossible to choose between Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina, or the original version of Pictures at an Exhibition as my favorite work. All are essential.

[arianna]

I think my favourite would have to be Pictures at an Exhibition. My school concert band is actually currently playing an orchestral version of it and I also had a research project on the piece. In particular, I love the movements "The Old Castle" (so many layers) and "The Hut of Baba Yaga".