Musorgsky: A Reminiscence of Victor Hartmann
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Pictures at an Exhibition: A Reminiscence of Victor Hartmann
Modest Musorgsky is a famous composer of programmatic music with his best example being Pictures at an Exhibition: a series of short pieces, all pertaining to his close friends paintings, Viktor Hartman. Musorgsky and Hartmans relationship was founded in their passion for art and music. Hartmans paintings were a large source of inspiration for Musorgsky and his compositions, where each section of Pictures was written to represent a certain painting. Not only were the pieces written to represent a painting, the mood that is depicted in each painting is reflected in each piece. The structure of Pictures resembles a trip to an art exhibition, with its promenades between the main paintings/pieces.
Modest Musorgsky was born in Karevo, in the province of Pskov (south of St. Petersburg) on March 9, 1839. He was from a very wealthy family, descendants of the first Russian ruler, Rurik in ca 830. Musorgsky received piano lessons from his mother and started composing at a young age. He was first intended to have a career serving as a military officer, but his passion for music overcame the duties of service. Musorgsky later became part of the Russian Five; which are 5 composers under the leadership of Mily Balakirev (Gasparov 2005). This group of “five” also included Cйsar Cui, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin (Orlova, 1991) Pictures at an Exhibition was written as a free-form sonata form piece (Russ 1992) in 1874 and apart from St. Johns Night on the Bare Mountain, it is the only instrumental composition by Musorgsky. It consists of 10 short pieces, which are all named after a certain painting by Hartmann; also, 4 short “promenades” that take place outside the main fabric of the piece (Russ 1992).
Viktor Hartmann died on 23 July, 1873 of an aneurysm at an early age of 39. He was at the point of his career where he was just beginning to artistically realize his concepts and his purpose. With
his paintings and sculptures, Musorgsky was very close with Hartmann and worked with him in the life of the opera. Musorgsky with an artistic ear, and Hartmann with the artistic eye. If it wasnt for Pictures at an Exhibition, Hartmann would almost be forgotten to this day. Little of his sculptures still remain, and his work as a painter was short lived. The death of Hartmann in 1873 shocked and angered Musorgsky. He was quoted saying “This utter waste of talent through death distresses me.” (Russ 1992) The thought of fate taking away such potential made Musorgsky crazy, and hurt him deeply. Musorgsky died a week after his 42 birthday, from multiple seizures caused by drinking and lack of good health. The earliest record of his unhealthy alcoholic lifestyle began in the summer of 1873, days or weeks after Hartmanns death. Among distress and confusion, guilt bestowed Musorgskys conscious. He noticed signs and symptoms of Hartmann illness and felt culpable for not doing anything to help or prevent the situation. Once the shock of Hartmanns death deteriorated, Musorgsky wrote Pictures at an Exhibition which was originally named Hartmann, to commemorate the life, work and friendship of Viktor Hartmann.
Each part of Pictures at an Exhibition is set to reflect a painting or piece of work by Hartmann. The first piece, “Gnomus” is written in Eb minor and represents the painting of a toy-nutcracker awkwardly walking around like a gnome with deformed legs (see annex A). The music is written like a two-part chromatic counterpoint, reflecting the legs of the deformed gnome. Other parts of “Gnomus” take on three different balances of menace, fearfulness and sympathy for this little character. “Il Vecchio Castello”, meaning The Old Castle, is based on Hartmanns view of an old medieval castle in front of which a troubadour is singing (see annex B). The music is written in ternary form, with the alto saxophone playing the melodic line. This piece resembles a daily serenade through Hartmanns design of this castle. “Tuileries” is Hartmanns painting of children playing with their young nurse, in the Tuileries gardens in Paris, France. The original painting is now lost, but re-creations have been painted
as representations of the original (see annex C). This piece is a very happy and joyful in mood, where Musorgsky tries to capture Hartmanns mental picture, in music. Musorgsky was very popular with children and wrote this piece with gaiety and a light-hearted feel. “Bydlo” is written as a one of the most melancholic Russian pieces, with heavy chords in the bass bringing a sense of devastation to the scene. The idea of this piece is surrounded by a cart being pulled through the picture, which is not evident in the original painting, but Musorgsky makes it a point in the music (see annex D). “Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks” is a painting of a small chick not quite out of the shell (see annex E). The music, in F major, is based upon the ballet Trilbi at the Maryinsky Theater, in St. Petersburg, where Hartmann was the costume designer. This piece is short with high clef writing and has a much more lighter theme, unlike “Babylon”; and the flutes, clarinets and oboe carry the main melodic lines. The end brings you to hear the high percussive sounds that mirror the idea of the chicks tapping at the shells to break loose. “Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuck” is a Yiddish title for two paintings that were given to Musorgsky, both of Jewish men in which case one is poor, and the other very wealthy (see annex F). In Musorgskys letters, he sometimes showed a great interest in Jewish culture, despite the antisemitism Russia