Cheap Panorama: Modest Mussorgsky (Music) (Modest Mussorgsky, Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, Herbert von Karajan, Igor Markevitch, Lorin Maazel, Mikhail Pletnev, Neeme Järvi, Brigitte Fassbaender, Berliner Philharmoniker) Price

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Customer Reviews of Panorama: Modest Mussorgsky

A Mussorgsky feast beyond praise
It was incredibly generous of DG to throw toegther these great performances--one of them legenday--in a bargain two-fer. The legendary performance, of course, is Richter's 1958 Pictures at an Exhibition performed in concert. The rights are owned by Philips, but I don't know if their latest remastering has been used here. The complaints about dreadful sonics are justified: the piano is far away and tinny, the Sofia audience coughs continuously--some of them are lucky to have left with their lungs intact--and there is a noisy exhaust fan in the foreground. It's a testimony to Richter's incandescent reading that it survives beyond all obstacles. <
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>Another high point is the orchestral reading of Pictures under Giulini with the CSO. This was a famous recording in its day, because Giulini took the thrice-familiar music seriously, a bit slower than usual, adding many individual touches. Maybe his approach becomes ponderous and too serious at times, but it's one of a kind, and the solo winds in the orchestra are a delight. <
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>Actually, I was most moved by Vishnievskaya's selection of songs, recorded in the Soviet Union with Igor Markevitch adding his superlative accompaniments--this is Mussorgsky singing of the highest order. But so is Fassbaender's Songs and Dances of Death, despite her lack of Slavic authenticity. Maazel bombs through Night on Bald Mountain with suitable thrills. <
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>In all, this Panorama two-fer can't be faulted. It's one of the very best in the seeries, and several of the choicest things on it are otherwise out of print.

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A STRONG REBUTTLE to the "bad" reviews.
155 minutes of music and one reviewer gives these CDs 1 star for couging here and there during 7 minutes of Richter's Pictures recital. Not continually mind you. I DON'T GET IT! <
>A reviewer doesn't like vocal music..so 2 stars. I DON'T GET IT! Just because one does not like "classical" vocals, doesn't mean they stink. <
>This is over 2 1/2 hours at single CD budget price. Geez... <
>Giulini gives a superbly recorded THRILLING performance of Pictures that, in my humble opinion, is second only to Reiner's. Also with the CSO 15 years earlier. <
>This 34+ minutes alone is worth the price of this collection. <
>The excerpts from Boris Gudonov are considered one of the best performances in the catalog (Karajan/VPO). 29 minutes and a good way to determine if you want to purchase the complete opera 3 CD set for over $30+ bucks. <
>Markevich/Vishnevskaya is considered to be the definitive version for the "6 songs". <
>The Kovanshchina prelude (Dawn on The Moskva River) is one the most heart rending themes in the canon. Simply gorgeous 6 minute piece of music. <
>I could go on and on. <
>Sure there are a few "gaffs" on these CDs. Maazel brings in Bald Mountain in under 10 minutes. Whew! <
>But hey...kudos to the orchestra for being able to play that well, that fast without stumbling over each other. Quite exhilerating acually. <
>And Then there is Richter's famous/"infamous" Pictures. Yes the annoying cough and a not so sonic recording. But anyone looking for just this track should already have been aware of this problem. "Classisists" have been talking about this problem for 50+ years. Obviously it can't be fixed. But still several coughs in 30+ minutes just makes it sound as live a performance as it is. <
>So let's recap...155 minutes of music with maybe parts of 15 minutes of minor problems for DISCOUNT bucks. Pretty good math I'd say. Equals 5 STARS where I come from. <
>Overall, this is an excellent CD for those who want Mussorgsky's major orchestral output in one package at a bargain price. <
>Top conductors, top orchestras, great performances and, except for Richter's Pictures, GREAT SONICS. <
>If you want a truly magnificent solo piano Pictures try Pletnev's on Virgin Classics. It will blow you away. And you get the bonus of his own piano transcription of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty which is even better. <
>ENJOY!

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Review for Richter's "Pictures" Only
I was thrilled to find that Deutsche Grammophon has reissued Sviatoslav Richter's famous Sophia performance of "Pictures." I have owned it on tape, but have until now not had it on CD. I was surprised by previous reviews of this edition, since I thought that the explosive coughing had been toned down substantially. My tape broke years ago, so maybe my memory is off. But the re-engineering of this performace has been one of the most needed "retrofits" in the entire classical catalogue. The sound quality of this edition is certainly much better than the old Polydor record. <
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>I also will refrain from entering the "Is it the greatest Pictures ever?"-debate. It is my favorite. One sometimes hears critics dismiss the piano--thus Mussorgsky's--version as monochromatic. But Richter presents a much more percussive version than most others, which may be why some people don't care for it. (My dad played this piece with a more Romantic reading.) It's a matter of taste: I have never cared for the Ravel version, probably because the percussive aspect doesn't translate into orchestration. <
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>I almost never write music reviews, since I'd hate to convince people to plunk down good money on a CD that conforms to my taste but not theirs. BUT, if you have enjoyed this performace in the past . . . <
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>I give five stars to Richter recital, which amazes me still. I agree that his deliberate "clunkers" are distracting. But having listened to this performance for almost twenty years, it is the "correct" playing of Pictures that now jars me. If you love this performance, as I clearly do, you'll be happy to have this CD. Just don't Google the Hartmann pictures which inspired Mussorgsky. It's disillusioning, but they aren't very good!