Mussorgsky (Canfield): Pictures at an Exhibition for saxophones (1 player) and piano

Code: JP4028
ISMN: 979-0-3019-0046-8

Mussorgsky's virtuosic suite for piano, Pictures at an Exhibition was composed in 1874, in memory of the composers's friend Viktor Hartmann, a Russian artist and architect who died from an aneurism the year before. The suite consists of ten movements plus promenades, which were inspired by an exhibit of Hartmann's drawings and watercolors. Each movement depicts one of the artworks with the promenades serving to connect the movements. The suite has enjoyed great success in the many arrangements done over the years, with Ravel's orchestration among the most popular.

David Canfield has used Mussorgsky's music in this virtuoso showpiece, utilizing all four of the major saxophones (soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone -- 1 player). Written for Kenneth Tse, the premiere of the suite took place at the World Saxophone Congress in Scotland, July, 2012.

The individual movements are as follows:

• Promenade I (alto saxophone)
• Gnomus (alto saxophone)
• Promenade II (alto saxophone)
• Il vecchio Castello (alto saxophone)
• Promenade III (piano)
• Tuilleries (soprano saxophone)
• Bydlo (baritone saxophone)
• Promenade IV (soprano saxophone)
• Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks (soprano saxophone)
• Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle (tenor saxophone)
• Promenade V (piano)
• Limoges (soprano saxophone)
• Catacombae (tenor saxophone)
• Con mortius in lingua mortua (alto saxophone)
• Baba-Yaga (baritone saxophone)
• The Great Gate of Kiev (alto saxophone)