One of the great talents of Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) was his unique ability to transpose words, psychological states and even physical movements into music. And even if he left his opera “Khovanshchina” (The Khovansky Affair) incomplete and unorchestrated, the sheer theatricality of its musical text reveals the presence of a work that begs for a stage production. The first completion and orchestration was made by Mussorgsky’s contemporary Rimsky-Korsakov. Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday. This recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was made in October 1977 at the Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition
The Philadelphia Orchestra was founded in 1900. Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985) stood at its head as principal conductor from 1936 to 1980. Continuing the work of his predecessor Leopold Stokowski, he turned the orchestra into one of the leading ensembles not only of the United States, but of the world. Under his direction, the orchestra became renowned in particular for its performances of late romantic and early 20th-century music.
Khovanshchina
Even if Modest Mussorgsky left his opera ‘Khovanshchina’ (The Khovansky Affair) incomplete and unorchestrated, the sheer theatricality of its musical text reveals the presence of a work that begs for a stage production. The first completion and orchestration was made by Mussorgsky’s contemporary Rimsky-Korsakov, but the more slender, powerful, raw orchestration made by Dmitri Shostakovich in 1960 is the one preferred today, and the version chosen by Kent Nagano for the Munich production recorded here. With his stripped-down sets and historicizing costumes, director Dmitri Tcherniakov, one of the new voices of contemporary Russian theater, throws a bridge to the political present. The historical pessimism of the opera, says Tcherniakov, ‘is legitimated by Russian history and Russian life. Basically, nothing has changed.’
Salzburg Festival 2012: Opening Concert
The Opening Concert of Salzburg Festival 2012 builds a bridge to the Ouverture spirituelle: Valery Gergiev conducts STRAVINSKY’s Symphony of Psalms, a work that is as unusual as it is haunting, setting three psalms from the Old Testament to music. Modest MUSORGSKY’s Songs and Dances of Death are performed in a version for high voice, with the Russian tenor Sergei Semishkur. The programme closes with Sergey PROKIFIEV’s Symphony No. 5.
Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela – Concert
Under the heading “Party in the Felsenreitschule,” the Munich daily Münchner Merkur boldly proclaimed: “Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra guests at the Salzburg Festival – and delivers the biggest audience hit of the summer.” Two days after the concert reviewed by the Merkur, the ensemble united its massive forces once again for a spectacular concert in the Grosses Festspielhaus – another unqualified success! Rarely has an orchestra reached out and grabbed its audience in such a visceral manner; and even more rarely has such a feat been accomplished by an orchestra of youngsters between the ages of 12 and 26! The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, the Salzburg Festival’s resident orchestra of 2008, is a product of the “Sistema de Orquestas” set up to allow children of all social levels to learn a musical instrument and play in an ensemble.