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Pictures at an Exhibition - Exeter Symphony Orchestra Winter Concert
Two great composers crafted the centrepiece of our Winter Concert. Mussorgsky wrote Pictures at an Exhibition for piano, but its unique format and memorable tunes subsequently inspired orchestration by, most famously, Maurice Ravel in 1922.
First though, to open the folk song theme of the concert’s first half, it’s the ever-popular Hungarian Dances 1 and 5 by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), published in 1869. Inspired by Liszt – and following in the folk-influenced footsteps of Haydn and Boccherini – Brahms saw the potential of these distinctive gypsy themes which are now among his most oft-performed works.
After Brahms’s commercial success with his Ungarische Tänze and written at the instigation of the same, savvy publisher, two collections of eight Slavonic Dances by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904) offer sound images of Bohemia which enjoy equal popularity; we will play Nos 1 & 8 (Op 46) and No 2 (Op 72).
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) wrote the (English) Folk Song Suite for military/concert band in 1923 and his student, Gordon Jacob, arranged it for concert orchestra the following year, adding ‘English’ to the title for publication. Nine folk songs – most collected by RVW himself – feature across two marches and an intermezzo; all are amply infused with the ‘pastoral’ style which also characterises The Lark Ascending.
Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), orchestrated by Ravel (1875-1937), is our finale. Originally written as a tribute to his close friend, the artist Viktor Hartmann after his sudden death in 1873, this impressive piece not only vividly depicts eleven of his paintings, but includes ‘promenades’ to suggest a viewer’s progress around the gallery. The breadth of Mussorgsky’s imagination is unparalleled and the images conjured range from eerie, through playful to majestic. Although the original version is intense, Ravel’s interpretation adds great colour and undeniably contributes to the work’s huge appeal.
First though, to open the folk song theme of the concert’s first half, it’s the ever-popular Hungarian Dances 1 and 5 by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), published in 1869. Inspired by Liszt – and following in the folk-influenced footsteps of Haydn and Boccherini – Brahms saw the potential of these distinctive gypsy themes which are now among his most oft-performed works.
After Brahms’s commercial success with his Ungarische Tänze and written at the instigation of the same, savvy publisher, two collections of eight Slavonic Dances by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904) offer sound images of Bohemia which enjoy equal popularity; we will play Nos 1 & 8 (Op 46) and No 2 (Op 72).
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) wrote the (English) Folk Song Suite for military/concert band in 1923 and his student, Gordon Jacob, arranged it for concert orchestra the following year, adding ‘English’ to the title for publication. Nine folk songs – most collected by RVW himself – feature across two marches and an intermezzo; all are amply infused with the ‘pastoral’ style which also characterises The Lark Ascending.
Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), orchestrated by Ravel (1875-1937), is our finale. Originally written as a tribute to his close friend, the artist Viktor Hartmann after his sudden death in 1873, this impressive piece not only vividly depicts eleven of his paintings, but includes ‘promenades’ to suggest a viewer’s progress around the gallery. The breadth of Mussorgsky’s imagination is unparalleled and the images conjured range from eerie, through playful to majestic. Although the original version is intense, Ravel’s interpretation adds great colour and undeniably contributes to the work’s huge appeal.
Saturday 29 November
Southernhay United Reformed Church, Southernhay East, Exeter, Devon EX1 1QD
7:30PM Tickets £15 (unreserved); £1 under-18s
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