Pictures at an Exhibition
Pictures at an Exhibition is a piano suite composed by Mussorgsky in 1874. It remains his most popular work, famed as a showpiece for virtuoso pianists. Dedicated the work to artist and architect friend Viktor Harmann and inspired in the exhibition of Hartmann's work held after his death. Today most of the pictures from the Hartmann exhibit are lost, making it impossible to be sure in many cases which Hartmann works Mussorgsky had in mind. Though composed in 20 days, the work was printed only in 1874. This first Rimsky-Korsakov edition presented many mistakes. Only in 1931 was the work published in agreement with the composers manuscript. The first (incomplete) orchestral arrangement was by Mikhail Tushmalov, followed by Henry Wood, and Maurice Ravel (whose orchestration has since become the most popular version of the work). Hundreds of versions of the work have been produced since (employing a great number of ensambles), sometimes by renowned composers. A number of conductors have made changes to the scoring by Ravel, though, including Toscanini and Golovanov . The suite has inspired homages in a broad range of musical styles: a version featured in two albums by the British trio ELP incorporates elements of progressive rock, jazz and folk music (1971/2008).

Modest Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period. He strove to achieve a uniquely Russian musical identity, often in deliberate defiance of the established conventions of Western music. Many of his works were inspired by Russian history, Russian folklore, and other nationalist themes. Such works include the opera Boris Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, and the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition. For many years Mussorgsky's works were mainly known in versions revised or completed by other composers. Many of his most important compositions have recently come into their own in their original forms, and some of the original scores are now also available.

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