Edwar Elgar sat down at the piano after a tiring day of lessons and played a random melody that caught his wife’s attention. Without further ado, he began to improvise variations on this enchanting melody, inspired by the different characters of his friends and activities around him: a »gruff disposition«, a »stuttering girlfriend«, his first attempts at playing the piano, a dog tumbling down an embankment, or – not to be forgotten – the world-famous »Nimrod« variation, with which Elgar honours his best friend.
The solution to the riddle, the enigma of the variations, which according to Elgar is hidden within the composition, remains unsolved to this day.
The architect and artist Viktor Hartmann, a good friend of Mussorgsky, died unexpectedly at the age of 39. An exhibition of his drawings, costumes, architectural designs, sketches and watercolours was held in his honour. Six weeks after visiting this tribute, Mussorgsky completed his own musical tour of the exhibition. »Pictures at an Exhibition« begins with a constantly moving promenade in which Mussorgsky depicts himself wandering through the exhibition, sometimes leisurely, sometimes briskly, in order to approach a picture that has caught his attention, and at times sadly, in thoughts of his deceased friend.
The vivid imagery of the original piano score - the limping gnome, the children playing, the ox cart, the French women arguing in the marketplace and much more – led to the creation of an orchestral score by Maurice Ravel. This astonishing musical spectacle was first performed at the Paris Opera on 19 October 1922.
PERFORMERS
NDR Jugendsinfonieorchester orchestra
Stefan Geiger conductor
PROGRAM
Edward Elgar
Enigma-Variationen op. 36
- Interval -
Modest Mussorgsky / Maurice Ravel
Pictures at an Exhibition
