Michael Korstick - Pictures at An Exhibition - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Michael Korstick ranks among the most important German pianists of our time. His playing is documented on numerous award-winning CDs which bear witness to the enormous breadth of his repertoire. The recording now being released by Gramola features Russian piano music from the 19th and 20th century. The piano cycle Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky can rightly be viewed as one of the most well-known works for piano, not least due to the immense number of later orchestrations (most notably by Maurice Ravel). Following up on the programmatic nature of musical pictures is the Doumka (Scène rustique russe) in C minor, Op. 59 by Peter Iljitsch Tschaikowsky as well as the Caucasian Lesghinka by Sergej Lyapunow, who alike portray traditional Russian themes and musical motifs in many of their compositions. Less tangible in extra-musical content appears the Sonata for piano No. 8 in B flat major Op. 84 by Sergej Prokofiev, having been composed during the years of World War II from 1939-1944. Album Tracks 1. Promenade 2. I. Gnomus 3. Promenade 4. II. Il Vecchio Castello 5. Promenade 6. III. Les Tuileries. Dispute D'enfants Après Jeux 7. IV. Bydlo 8. Promenade 9. V. Ballet Des Poussins Dans Leur Coques 10. VI. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmüyle 11. VII. Limoges. Le Marché 12. Viiia. Catacombae. Sepulcrum Romanum 13. Viiib. Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua 14. IX. La Cabane Sur Des Pattes de Poule (Baba Yaga) 15. X. La Grande Porte de Kiev 16. Doumka (Scène Rustique Russe) in C minor, Op. 59 17. Lesghinka (Etude No. 10 from Op. 11) 18. I. Andante Dolce 19. II. Andante Sognando 20. III. Vivace