Urtext of a Brilliant Interpretative Vision

Ravel’s brilliant compositional interpretation of the “Pictures at an Exhibition” is, to this day, the most famous and independent orchestration of Mussorgsky’s masterpiece. When the French composer turned his attention to his Russian colleague’s piano cycle in 1922, he was at the height of his mastery and Paris was enraptured by Russian music. Notated with remarkable accuracy in an autograph score, Ravel’s orchestration was an audience favorite from the very start. Jean-François Monnard, who previously edited the Breitkopf Urtext editions of “Boléro,” “La Valse” and “Rapsodie espagnole,” presents a text in which even the tiniest detail is authentic. The new edition not only eliminates many previously undiscovered errors, but also offers a wealth of practical information on the long and multi-faceted performance history of the work, including the metronome markings of great conductors who were connected to the work in a very special manner.