It is possible that there may be better recorded performances of
Mussorgsky's original piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition -- the coruscating
Horowitz and the colossal
Richter leap to mind -- and it's certain that there are recorded performances as good or better of
Ravel's orchestral transcription of Pictures -- the mighty
Reiner and the magnificent
Szell among many others -- but there is now no finer coupling of
Mussorgsky's original and
Ravel's transcription than this one with
Byron Janis for the original and
Antal Dorati and the
Minneapolis Symphony for the transcription. At the time the recording was made in 1961,
Janis was at the peak of his career as an American super-virtuoso and his performance of the original is awe-inspiring. Every picture is brilliantly projected through
Janis' combination of astounding technique, subtle sensibility, and love of grand gestures. When
Dorati recorded the transcription, he was at his own peak as ballet conductor turned symphonic conductor and he was at his best in the color, drama, and vigor of eastern European and Russian music. Even with the less than flawless playing of the
Minneapolis Symphony,
Dorati's interpretation of Pictures is direct, powerful, and very exciting if not always what could be called understated. As a bonus, the disc separates the two Pictures with two encores from
Janis' Moscow performance in June 1962, an astounding F major Etude and a lovely A minor Waltz. Mercury is clean, clear, loud, sometimes a little gimmicky -- listen to the percussion in the "Great Gates of Kiev" -- but always thrilling.