GRAMOPHONE. MUSSORGSKY
GRAMOPHONE—MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition—piano version, orchestral version (orch Ravel) Oleg Marshev pf Odense Symphony Orchestra / Jan Wagner Danacord DACOCD656 (70'.DDD) A fascinating opportunity to compare the piano and orchestral Pictures Coupling Mussorgsky's original piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition with Ravel's celebrated orchestral transcription makes for fascinating listening. This is largely because the ferocity of much of Mussorgsky’s piano-writing is tempered by Ravel with a dazzling but typically Gallic elegance. And this makes it no exaggeration to claim that a single instrument comes to exceed the impact of full orchestra. Such ironic grandeur is made abundantly clear by Oleg arshev, whose all-Russian mastery takes nothing for granted providing, even in a crowded marketplace, one of the finest...