Hear this piano masterpiece played live, October 5, 2024
When pianist Anna Fedorova makes her October 5, 2024 appearance for Steinway Society – The Bay Area in Cupertino, CA, the audience will return after intermission to Mussorgsky’s masterpiece: Pictures at an Exhibition. This piece presents both challenges and beauty, fable and fantasy, all of it complementing the mysterious and mystical first half of the program.
A Walk Through the Gallery: Inspiration and Form
Mussorgsky composed the beautiful Pictures at an Exhibition in 1874 as a tribute to his friend, the architect and artist Viktor Hartmann. This piano suite takes the listener on a whimsical tour – a promenade – through an imaginary gallery, each piece a musical depiction of one of Hartmann’s artworks. Titles like “Catacombs” and “The Hut on Fowl’s Legs” paint vivid pictures, inviting the listener to imagine the artworks themselves.
Mystics, symbols and folklore
The structure of this piano suite is equally fascinating. The recurring “Promenade” theme acts as a connective thread. The theme ties together the diverse movements and representing the composer’s journey through the exhibition. This cyclical form, along with the evocative titles, presents a unique challenge for pianists.
The piece is rich in mysticism, symbols and folklore. “The Hut on Fowl’s Legs” for instance was a picture that spoke of Russian folklore, of mortality and witches. In Russian folklore, the witch Baba Yaga flies through the woods searching for children to eat. She lives in a hut on hen’s legs. This movement was inspired by a painting of an ornate clock in the shape of Baba Yaga’s hut. In the music, one can hear the clock ticking, another Russian symbol of mortality. Listen carefully…can you hear the days counting away?
Capturing the Essence: Performance Considerations
Performing such an elegant piece requires a pianist to be both musician and storyteller. Each movement demands a distinct character and emotional range. The playful scurrying of “The Gnome” must be contrasted with the majestic grandeur of “The Great Gate of Kiev.” (Hear Ms. Fedorova in this video of her performance at Chapel Bovendonk.)
See information about Anna Fedorova’s entire program here in Silicon Valley on the
Steinway Society site.
The technical demands of Pictures at an Exhibition are equally significant: the score is filled with passages that require immense dexterity and control. Yet, technical brilliance alone is not enough. The essence of the music lies in its ability to evoke emotions and imagery. This evocative excellence is one of the hallmarks of Anna Fedorova’s style.
A Legacy of Innovation
Pictures at an Exhibition stands as a testament to Mussorgsky’s compositional style and skill. It invites the audience to engage in its elegance. It illustrates dissonance, unusual harmonies, and vivid programmatic elements which challenged the conventions of his time. The suite’s enduring popularity speaks to its power to transport listeners to a world of imagination and emotion.
Interested in knowing more about the art and artist that inspired the music?
See this article on the Jacksonville Symphony site.
Read more about the first part of Ms. Fedorova’s 10/5/24 program here.
Portions of this blog entry were created using the artificial intelligence engine of Google’s Gemini.com
