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 ...
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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...
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