Modest Mussorgski

Pictures at an Exhibition

In memory of the deceased illustrator and architect Viktor A. Hartmann (1834-1873), an exhibition of his watercolours and drawings was organised in 1874. Modest Mussorgsky, who had been Hartmann's friend, was inspired by his visit to this exhibition to compose the cycle 'Pictures at an Exhibition' for piano solo; a milestone of piano literature. He wrote it in June 1874 in St. Petersburg and subtitled it 'Memories of Viktor Hartmann'. The picturesque and evocative musical language, which lets the pictures come to life, has remained fascinating to the present day. The source of the Henle Urtext edition is the cleanly written autograph. The layout of the musical text is based on Mussorgsky's notation.