This document discusses Modest Mussorgsky's famous piece "Pictures at an Exhibition", which was composed based on paintings by Mussorgsky's friend Victor Hartmann. It provides context about Mussorgsky and Hartmann, and describes two of Hartmann's paintings - "The Great Gate of Kiev" and "The Tuileries" - that influenced Mussorgsky's composition. It also mentions that Emerson, Lake & Palmer later recreated "Pictures at an Exhibition" in a live album.

2. VISUAL ART
What interests and strikes me the most when looking at this piece is
how it’s ahead of its time, (modern) the use of brightly painted bold
shapes, and the use of patterns demonstrates this. Also its sense of
movement can be represented by the different patterns and tones of
different shapes placed randomly and the title of Swinging conveys
the painting’s sense of dynamic movement. I think this painting
reflects life because you never know what might happen and what
you might face, and because everything in this painting is random it
complements the painting. I think music that would fit this is
something that uses a wide range of rhythms and instruments,
because it is quite a busy picture and there is a lot of flamboyant
colours but at the same time dark and gloomy colours which is why it
should have a whole range of rhythms and instruments because it is
random also it might also help reflect the modernity of the painting.
Which why I have chosen a piece of music from the film “Bridge to
Terabithia” soundtrack. It doesn’t have a particular name, it just part
of the film called “All of Terabithia.” Here is where you can find it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw12UoD5U3M&list=PL371B6E758
D43D803 it is by Matt Nichols.

3. ABOUT MODEST MUSSORGSKY
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, 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. Mussorgsky, was born in Karevo,
south of Saint Petersburg, imperial Russia. Is family were wealthy and owned a lot of land. At the
age of 6 he received piano lessons from his mother (piano instructor),
At the age 10, he and his brother went to Saint Petersburg to study at the elite Peterschule (St. Peter's
School). While there, Modest studied the piano with the noted Anton Gerke. In 1852, the 12-year-
old Mussorgsky published a piano piece titled "Porte-enseigne Polka" at his father's expense. He’s
parents had planned to move to Saint Pertersburg so that their two sons could carry out the
family tradition of military service. After he had finished this he went onto cadet school of the
guards at age 13. During this time, Music remained important to him, however. His skills as a
pianist made him in much demand by fellow-cadets; for them he would play dances interspersed
with his own improvisations. In 1856 Mussorgsky had successfully graduated from the Cadet
School. Following family tradition he received a commission with the Preobrazhensky Regiment,
the foremost regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard.

4. PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
Since the some of Viktor Hartmann's paintings have been lost, it is hard to tell what
inspired Mussorgsky! So I have chosen 2 of the paintings of pictures of an exhibition.
One of Mussorgsky’s most famous work is called “Pictures at an Exhibition” was written as
a group of pieces for piano in 1874. The pictures painted by Victor Hartman (a previous
friend of Mussorgsky) are mainly watercolours. The Music of which Mussorgsky had
created for ‘Pictures an Exhibition’ are created in the describing of Hartman’s painting.
For example the piece ‘Great Gate of Kiev’ is companied ‘with big, long chords,
describing the grandness of the gate.’ Another famous painting by Viktor Hartmann
that Mussorgsky created music for is called Tuileries.

5. GREAT GATE OF KIEV
A competition was held to select the best design for a
gateway to be built in Kiev to honour the failed
assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1866. Hartmann
won the competition. His entry showed a Moorish-
looking structure topped with a cupola in the shape of
an old Russian battle helmet, with a small crowd of
people admiring the gate that dwarfs them.
Pictures at an Exhibition rises to this grand and glorious
finale that leaves the listener feeling as if they had
travelled to Kiev and are now standing in front of this
tragically non-existent gate.
Victor Hartmann's design for The Great Gate of Kiev
caused a sensation, and the architect himself felt it
was the finest work he had yet done. The cancellation
of the project must have come as a blow.

6. TUILERIES
This movement comes from the painting “The Tuileries Gardens”. The gardens are located
in Paris and like most of the paintings represented in this work this one was lost,
however through Mussorgsky’s use of the “universal melody” and falling thirds you can
imagine the children playing and taunting each other in the garden.
Summary
To summarise, Mussorgsky used his friends (Viktor Hartmann) art and architecture to compose his
music, as a great observer of Hartmann’s work he would probably analyse every aspect of what
was in the picture before composing for example:
• If there were any characters, unless you could see there face/facial expressions you wouldn’t know
what they were thinking and feeling so you might want to use a variety of different chords to
create different rhythms so it is easier to perceive of what is happening in the picture.

7. PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION, RE-CREATED!
Pictures of an exhibition originally composed by Modest Mussorgsky, has been re-
created . Pictures at an Exhibition is an album by British progressive rock band
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1971. As a live album and re-released in
2001 as a remastered edition including both live and studio versions of Modest
Mussorgsky's classical piece Pictures at an Exhibition. The original live album
was recorded at Newcastle City Hall in North East England.

8. TATE TRACKS
The Tate Track which I listened to and felt was most descriptive of the painting in which it was made
for, was composed by Union of knives and the painting by Cy Twombly and called Quattro
Stagioni Autunno. The painting represents the four seasons. The fact that the piece started of
very quietly and gradually built up emphasises the painting because the first bit might be
representing the winter where it is quiet, cold and not majorly busy. Contrasting on the other
hand is the summer where everyone spends the time in the warm outdoors making it more busier
and lively therefore would make the brush strokes and shapes exaggeratingly bigger. Not to
mention the wider use of colours throughout the ‘summer’ area, this also supports the use of the
four seasons idea. Also the slowness of the music mirrors how nature will take its time and will
form into a new season with time. Furthermore the up and down repetitive rhythms I think reflect
the un-patience of people wanting the weather to change from what it is currently to something
that is appropriate to them. To me this is how Cy Twombly painting and union of Knives music
represents the for seasons and the weather all together.