(piano concerto version),
Pictures from the Crimea
Philharmonia Orchestra - Geoffrey Simon, Conductor
MUSSORGSKY
Born into a family of well-to-do landowners, Mussorgsky seemed destined for a life in the army. In 1851, at the age of twelve, he entered the School for Cadets in St. Petersburg. But like all great musicians his talent showed itself at an early age. It was an introduction Balakirev, who was to become the inspiration behind the nationalist group of Russian composers known as "The Mighty Handful", that led to Mussorgsky resigning his army commission and devoting himself wholly to music. His works, however, have invariably come down to us filtered through the hands of others because Mussorgsky had acquired a taste for hard liquor in the army, causing him to leave a great deal of his music incomplete. Rimsky-Korsakov, in particular, was responsible for putting into performable condition much of Mussogsky's music after the composer's death.
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