After the death of Russian artist Victor Hartmann, a memorial showing of some of his works was held in St. Petersburg. Modeste Moussorgsky attended, and then sat down to compose his musical impressions of some of the paintings that were on display. Later, Maurice Ravel orchestrated Moussorgsky's score, and Pictures at an Exhibition has been an audience favorite ever since.
We'll look at Moussorgsky's tribute to his friend and fellow Russian nationalist on this week's program.