00:03
We return to the 23 greatest solo, piano works. This is lecture 15, it is entitled mosarch ski pictures and an exhibition.

00:18
Pictures at an exhibition is a sweet or collection of character pieces. Inspired by an exhibition of Russian art and design by Msorksky's friend, the artist and architect Victor, Alexandravic Hartman who lived from 1834. To 1873 we curing, periodically, across the span of the peace is a movement entitled promenade, which depicts masoreski himself as he strolls through the exhibition, the promenade, which we will discuss in due time is pure 19th century.

00:57
Russian national music music, characterized by a decidedly non-western European approach to rhythm and harmony let's hear the promenade as it appears at the beginning of pictures.

02:56
The birth of Russian concert music The defeat of Napoleon in 1812 made Russia a great power, which it remained until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 background by 1810 Napoleon Bonaparte, and his continental system based in Paris had come to dominate. The European continent England. However, remained free According to historians and Robert Palmer and Joel Colton, quote Napoleon could be overthrown only by the destruction of his army, which neither British wealth, nor British see power, nor the European nationalists, nor the precision, nor the Austrian armed forces could do all eyes turned to Russia and international clientele of immigrants and anti-bonoptists congregated in Saint Petersburg where they poured into the SARS ears.

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The welcome message that Europe looked to him for its salvation, unquote on December, 31st, 1810 Russia, withdrew from Napoleon's Continental System, and immediately resumed trade with England. Well, Napoleon decided to teach this R, a lesson he'd never forget In June of 1812, Napoleon's grand RMA are roughly 600,000 troops, entered Russia, Five months later in late November fewer than 40,000 survived their retreat from Moscow.

04:31
That was a serious spanking. The Russian campaign proved that Napoleon was not invincible. Napoleon's. End was indeed insight for which Europe had Russia to thank Russian national pride and prestige who tremendously after Napoleon's defeat and Russian artists of all stripes began to consider how they might express that pride and prestige in purely Russian terms by creating homegrown Russian.

05:02
National art art that grew out of the spirit traditions and language of Russia and not from Western European models and traditions, the work credited with initiating, the Russian concert music tradition, is the opera a life for the dollar composed between 1834 and 1835 by McCall. Glinka, who lived from 1804 to 1857 for all of its dead to contemporary Italian and French opera.

05:34
But made a life for the czar special was that it was a full blown grand opera by a Russian. Born composer set in the Russian language based on a tale of Russian heroism in the face of foreign parallel and shaped musically by the idiosyncrasies of Russian folk music. And the Russian language to which it is set for glink is contemporaries a life for the czar, breathe.

06:02
Narad nourished Russian national authenticity. It was a Russian language opera that deployed its Russianisms intrinsically and not just decoratively overnight and forever. After recall glinka came to be considered the godfather of Russian concert music. When Lincoln died in 1857, he was canonized as the patron, saint of Russian music.

06:28
Among those who worshiped at the shrine of Glenka was a 20 year old pianist and wannabe composer by the name of Miley Alexiaovich the Lakherev, the Russian five nail model material. Balaclava was not according to one description. He was quote short squat and agiatic looking unquote. According to his friend, the violinist Peter Beborican, Bellacare of never owned a single book on music theory, harmony orchestration, a competent pianist, the 18 year old Valak met and played for Glinka Glinka like what he heard and he encouraged Bill Akerev to make music his career.

07:16
Bill Okarev inspired to the tips of his toes, did just that and put out, his shingle in Saint Petersburg as both a music teacher and critic that he could do. So was a case of only in Russia, where the musical vacuum was so great. That given the requisite moxie which Balakar have had in endless supply.

07:39
Even an amateur like himself could pass himself off as a professional even more amazing. Is that the accepted as glencas successor. But most amazing of all is that during the 1860s gathered around him, a group of young amateur composers hobbyists who eventually changed the face of not just Russian music, but Western music as well, the composers who came to make up the lacquer elves.

08:11
Circle were seizures a career army officer and fortifications expert Modest Musorkski and Ensen in the Russian army. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff, a naval officer and Alexander Borodin, a doctor and chemist. They came to be called the Moguchia which might be translated variously as the mighty heap, the magnificent few, the mighty handful, or simply the five, the members of the five originally nationalists in their outlook, they believed that constant vigilance was necessary against the insidious influence of German music.

08:53
At the heart of the five's compositional xenophobia was their loathing of what they callled Germanic development. The tendency by German composers to rehash rework and reinterpret their musical materials. The members of the five believed with the fervor of biblical zealots that, that sort of developmental process. Grew out of a dramatic.

09:19
Predisposition for intellectualization and analysis and logical argument a predisposition that they believe was completely foreign to the Russian creative impulse on August 15th. 1868 Masarksky wrote a letter to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff in which he expressed exactly these sentiments quote. And another thing about development, in short development, in the technical sense is just like German philosophy.

09:50
All worked out in systematized when a German thinks he reasons his way to a conclusion. Our Russian, brother, on the other hand starts with a conclusion and then might amuse himself with reasoning. The artist is a law unto himself when an artist revises. It means he is dissatisfied. When he adds to what already satisfies he is Germanizing chewing over.

10:14
What has already been said, we russians are not good Jews. We are omnivores unquote in his letter, his orcs he expresses a truism about not just his music but most Russian nationalist music of his time. That trueism is that that music is essentially expository music music. Music that is about its themes and not about developing those things that this predisposition towards expository music was intrinsic to the Russian national musical character.

10:52
And that's who employed German compositional techniques and models was to embrace the actions and aesthetic of the evil musical Empire Modest Pet Provence Masarksky 1839 to 1881 was York. Ski was born into a wealthy land owning family in the Imperial. Russian town of Toro pets about 250 miles of south of Saint Petersburg.

11:19
He began piano lessons at the age of 6 and by the age of 10, he was able to perform a concerto by the English composer. John Field and various works by Franz List at the age of 12. Misogyny's family moved to Saint Petersburg so that he and his brother could attend and elite military academy called the cadet school of the guards.

11:42
Mosarchy graduated at 17 in 1856 and received his commission as was the Musky, family tradition, in the prey of Russian ski regimen. The most prestigious regiment of the Russian Imperial guards. According to Harold Schoenbergski quote, had been taught what every good regimental officer of the prayer. Brushesky had to know how to drink, how to winch, how to wear clothes, how to gamble, how to flog a surf.

12:14
How to sit on a horse of this set of accomplishments? He found drinking the most congenial unquote in October of 1856. The 17 year old masark ski met the 22 year old Alexander. Blorendeen years later, Bordine remembered quote, I had just been a pointed in army doctor and besorkski was a newly hatched officer being on hospital duty.

12:44
We met and found one. Another congenial was at that time of a very calow, most elegant perfectly contrived. Little officer brand, new close-fitting, uniform toes. Well, turned out hair, well, oiled and carefully smooth out. Hands will cared for he spoke through his teeth. And just carefully, chosen words were interspersed with French phrases?

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He showed in fact pretentiousness but also perfect breeding at a party at the army. Doctor's house. He sat down at the piano and coquettishly. Raising his hands started playing delicately and gracefully with the circle around him rapturously murmuring charming, delicious and quote at the age of 18 was dorky began studying composition with Bala Cuev and just like that poof imbid goodbye to his career in the army in order to devote himself to his music.

13:45
I'll bet that went over real big with mom and dad Mosarchy When Brazorski was 26 sorry, Alexander the second, put forward the immense, a patient reform of 1861 which gave more than 23 million serfs their freedom. The Mosarchy family went from halves to have nuts almost overnight, which necessitated that the prodigal modest, take the first of a number of jobs with the Russian civil service jobs.

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He took about a seriously as his military career what he did take seriously was music and his desire to compose music that faithfully reproduced the contour rhythm and expressive spirit of Russian speech. He wrote and I quote, I should like to make my characters speak on the stage. Exactly.

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As people do in real life without exaggeration or distortion and yet, right music, it will be thoroughly artistic. What I foretell is the melody of life. Not of classicism. Unquote along with Mesor's piece, obsessive desire to create. This sung speech was an equally obsessive desire to compose unmistakably Russian music to this end misery was prepared to reject almost the entire canon of Western European music and to break pretty much every so-called rule and compositional.

15:17
Convention Misorski's great masterwork the opera. Boris Gordonov was composed between 1868 and 1872 and premiered in 1874. That premier should have represented a high point in his life and career but unfortunately by 1874 Mzorski's compulsive drinking but was then called pipsomania had started to take a real toll while he managed to compose a number of works that year including pictures at an exhibition.

15:54
His alcohol fueled declined was in full swing, The Zorski's friend, the artist Elia Reppin described his disintegration quote. It was really incredible how that well-bred guards officer with his beautiful and polished manners that witty conversation list that in exhaustible punter, quickly sank sold his belongings, even his elegant clothes and before long descended to cheap saloons, we are he personified the familiar type of has been where, with his red potato shape nose.

16:32
He was already unrecognizable. Was it really? He the once impeccably drastic. He'll clicking society, man. Scented dainty fastidious now, a denizen of basement. Dives nearly in rags, swollen with alcohol. Unquote, just days before Mosarchy died. This same ilia weapon painted the portrait for which Moshorksky is best known in which a blurry eyed red-nosed towel haired Masori dressed in peasant clothing.

17:06
Stairs out blankly seemingly oblivious to everything he died on March. 16th 1881 a week after his 40 second birthday Mosarchy's. Fame rests on a small number of works is operas goldenov and covalentina a series of superb, songs, and the instrumental works Saint. John's night on bear mountain and pictures at an exhibition pictures at an exhibition 1874 the dork scheme met the artist and architect Victor Hartman in 1870 when he was 31 years old and Hartman was 36.

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He became fast friends in no small part due to their shared devotion to the cause of Russian art. Heartburn died from an aneurysm in August of, 1873 at the age of 39. In his memory, the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint, Petersburg staged, a heartman retrospective in February and March of 1874.

18:12
The exhibition featured over 400 of heart monsters and designs. A number of which were on loan. From Moscowsky himself, our friends. Sadly, most of those 400 works have disappeared. Either. They remain undiscovered or they have been lost due to neglect Mosarchy. For one would be heartbroken to know this it would probably cause him to drink Mzorski attended.

18:42
The exhibition and was inspired in his own words, to draw in music what he considered heartburn's best pieces In doing. So he created pictures at an exhibition, the binding compositional element of the piece is the promenade. We heard earlier in the lecture music that by mezourkski's own admission describes, his stroll, through the exhibition, the promenade is heard in various guises, a total of five times.

19:12
Interspersed among ten programmatic movements each a musical depiction of one of heartmount's. Paintings drawings or designs when we first heard it we observed. The promenade is pure 19th century, Russian national music. It's time to demonstrate. Just what that means. Mosarch ski indicates that the opening promenade, be played moderately fast and in Russian style by Russian style and Morks.

19:46
He refers to the promenade's a symmetrical rhythm. A rhythmic asymmetry characteristic of the Russian language and Russian folk music. The Promenade begins with four metric units of 11, beats each with each 11 beat units. Subdivided into a group of five plus six. Let's listen to this opening and let's count to 11 for times.

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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 we will look long hard and in vain to find any such rhythmic asymmetry in western European music.

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Composed in the 1870s, In the fifth and final appearance of the promenade, their rhythmic asymmetry goes into hyperdrive. This final promenade, like the first one begins with four units of 11 with each set of 11 being divided as 5. Plus 6 following that are two units of six followed by another 11.

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A six another 11 two sixes. Then two sevens. Then a three another 11. And finally, a 13. Here's how it all adds up. 11 plus 11 plus 11, plus 11 6 plus 6 plus 11, plus 6, plus 11, plus 6, plus 6, plus 7, plus 7 plus 3 plus 11 plus 13.

21:46
I'll count it while we listen. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 three four five six.

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One two three, four five six. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine 10. 11. One, two, three, four, five six. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine 10. 11. One, two, three, four, five six. One, two, three, four. Five, six, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. One, two, three. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine 10. 11. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13,

23:31
Some of the pictures, Mzorski chose to depict our downright bizarre. Well, you know what bizarre is as bizarre does which means that if Nzorkski wants to musically depict a visually bizarre image, he's going to need come up with music that is as bizarre as the visual image. He wants to depict, that means composing music that goes outside, the box music, that breaks the rules music that fits no pre-existing context music that some listeners will find crude and ugly.

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For example, the first picture following the opening promenade is called nomas which is Latin for the gnome. We're not talking here about one of those cute red-headed long gnomes, but rather a sketch by Hartman depicting a nutcracker in the shape of a twisted deformed dwarf with huge teeth Mzorsky's.

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Music lurches back and forth as might the poor dentally challenged gnome on his bandy legs. Presumably cast in the key of E flat there is in reality little sense of traditional tonal centricity in this music. If it sounds creepy to us today. What with all the horror movie scores?

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We've heard just think how weird this music would have sounded audiences in 1874. Here's the first half of nomas.

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According to the Russian musicologist, Amelia freed, Mzorski's. Nomas is also an intensely humanist statement quote Bzorksky's piece is grotesque with a touch of tragedy. A convincing example of the humanization of a ridiculous prototype in the music or training the dwarfs. Awkward leaps and bizarre grimaces are heard cries of suffering.

26:21
Moans and entries for mercy, unquote. Another of the stranger images. Mzorski set to music is one entitled ballet of the unhatched, chicks, the pieces based on heart moms. Drawing of costumes for a projected ballet, depicting children, wearing egg-shaped outfits and birds head masks or skis wonderfully comic, music, snaps and crackles with whimsy and a bird like lightness.

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Let's hear it. Ballet of the unhatched, chicks.

28:44
The strangest and most pianistically progressive movement, in all of pictures at an exhibition is the hut on Hens legs, Baba. Yaga. Baba, Yaga was a storybook, which who terrified generations of Russian children at bedtime. Her hut hidden deep in the forest was perched, on chicken legs. So that it could turn to face anyone who was unfortunate enough to stumble upon it.

29:12
She rode cackling through the woods on a huge wooden mortar propelled by an equally formidable pestle which she used to grind the bones of the naughty children on whom she died. Mzorsky's portrait of Baba. Yaga is spectacular particularly in his use of the piano, which becomes here. A big old percussion instrument.

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Let's hear the opening third of the piece.

31:08
Let's sample. A few of the less fantastic and more. Realistic of Mzorski's Hartmann inspired. Images Bidwell. Depicts a huge lumbering polish ox cart.

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Like many of Mzorski's musical images and pictures. This bid, woe has been subjected to various interpretations over the years, Western listeners, tend to hear it simply as a stereotypically heavy bit of Slavic peasant music, a sort of terrestrial song of the Volga. Boatman for Soviet musical authorities into depicted, nothing less than.

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And I quote the nobility and suffering of the peasant class and the hardships born by that patient and perseverant toiler. Unquote, the movement entitled to wheelies with its rapid movements and generally high range to picks children playing and arguing in Paris's. Tuileries garden.

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The most controversial picture in pictures is entitled, Samuel Goldenberg and Schmooley. The movement was said, to be based on two pictures, one of them, to depicting a wealthy Jew Samuel, Goldenberg and the other a poor Jew, that would be schmooley whose lack of material resources extends to having no last name, Mzorksky's proclivity for writing music based on the contours of speech is put in high relief.

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In this movement, Samuel, Goldenberg Mr. Gold Mountain, the wealthy Jew speaks first, He speaks in a deep rich voice, and with a measured pace with a melody line, just oriental enough to identify him as a Jew.

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Smoothly. Now speaks He is presumably begging, goldenberg for money. His voice is high, wheedling and whining. And his vocal line is filled with rapid repeated notes, which are understood to represent either his chattering teeth or shivering body.

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In the end goldenburg blows smoothly off, according to Mzorski scholar, Michael Roots, quote Goldenberg, a nasty wiley and mean character gives nothing to schmally. Simply sending him off with a flea in his ear. Unquote, the controversy regarding this movement has to do with Moshorky's own virulent, anti-semitism Yes. Russian aristocrats of his era were expected to be anti-Semitic, but Msorksky went away over the line in particular, his letters to Balacare of who was himself.

36:11
A terrible anti-semite, are truly awful. And here's a fact, modern, research has revealed that the portraits of the Jews on which Musoritski based this piece were never part of the heartman exhibit in the first place. It was Moshorksky himself who named the Jews in the pictures and Moshorksky himself who most revealingly put quotations around the names Samuel and Shmulley in the title of his peace.

36:42
I would explain Samuel and Schmuly are the same name Schmuly being the Hebraic, slash Yiddish version of Samuel, Richard Torreskin, the preeminent Russian music scholar of his generation writes. And we quote to Ruskin The use of quotation marks points up, the fact that the two GD, meaning's words not to Russians, The two GD have the same first name, one Germanized, the other Yiddish, They are in fact, one gied, not too.

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The portrayal is a brazen insult. Mosarchy is claiming that no matter how dignified, or sophisticated, or Europeanized, Azid's exterior on the inside, he's a jabbering pestering. Little schmuly unquote, the grand finale, the great gate of Kiev Heartman's picture. Depicts his design for the city gates of Kiev, which he designed in the ancient Russian massive style and kept with a huge cupola shape, like a Slavic, war helmet, Hartman designed, the gate to commemorate, some Alexander, the Seconds narrow escape from assassination.

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In Saint Petersburg on April, 4th of 1866 Hartmann's design which he considered the best work he had ever done one a national competition, although the gate itself was unfortunately, never built. Skis picture features two thematic entities. The first is a majestic processional music that grows out of the promenade.

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The second thermatic element is a solemn hymn based on a Russian orthodox chant.

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There's a textural element we should be aware of as well. And that is chiming. They'll like scales heard initially over the majestic, processional music.

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The two thematic elements and the bell ringing music together. Built up to a magnificent coda based on the majestic processional Here. Is that coda? Which brings pictures to its conclusion.

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Given Mzorsky's nationalist, leanings. This music is about much more than just a city getting Kiev by friends. It is about nothing less than the magnificence and might of mother Russia herself. Mzorsky's pictures is the single instrumental work, the best embodies the views and tenets of the Kuchka. Musicologist, Michael Roose, Wrights.

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Quote, there is no other instrumental work like this one with its social messages from 19th century Russia. It's saturation in folk music in culture, and it's innovative harmonic language, all wrapped up in and alluringly colorful exterior, unquote, colorful, it is. And to Mzoresky's mind completely Russian masarksky's, studied avoidance of the sorts of harmonic contrapuntal developmental and formal procedures associated with German music.

43:28
Guaranteed, that pictures would have a sound, utterly its own harsh criticism, and a legacy rewritten, unfortunately, many of his contemporaries considered his unwillingness to use German compositional techniques in a medically correct way as a sign, not of originality. But rather of ignorance and poor training in the 1905 edition of the Oxford history of music, Edward Dannroyer wrote quote Masark ski.

44:01
Appears willfully eccentric his style impresses. The western ear as barberlessly ugly unquote in a letter to his patronus, not deja, von Mech, Peter Tchaikovsky, wrote quote Muzzorksky is a hopeless case in talent. He is perhaps superior to all the other members of the five, but his nature is narrow-minded.

44:26
Devoid of any urge towards self-perfection blindly believing in the ridiculous theories of his circle. In addition, he has a certain base side to his nature, which likes coarseness roughness. He flaunts his illiteracy takes pride in his ignorance and mucks along blindly believeing in the infallibility of his genius. Unquote.

44:53
The Zork skis music. Might very well have fallen into oblivion if not for the efforts of his friend and fellow Fiverr Nikolai. Rimsky-Korsakov among the five Mazorksky and Rimsky-Korsakoff were especially close Rimsky-Korsakoff was devastated. When Mosarchy died at the age of 42 and he took upon himself the Herculean task of sorting through completing orchestrating and preparing for performance and publication Mosarchies scattered.

45:25
Disorganized manuscripts. It was a colossal labor of love that took years for example, Missouri's keys, five act opera covanchino was left incomplete and an orchestrated. When he died Rimsky-Korsakov revised completed and orchestrated the opera after which he supervised its premiere in February of 1886. The orchestral work known today as night on bear.

45:53
As in Baron mountain is actually an arrangement of themes by Msorksky assembled and orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakoff. I take this moment to observe the amazingly popular orchestral version of pictures, at an exhibition, is the work of the French composer. Maurice Ravel. Who orchestrated, Misorski's piano version in 1922, there can be no doubt that Rimsky-Korsakov rescued and revivified Misorski's music, But at a certain price to the music because many observers today, believe that in his attempt to clean up Moshorky's works Rimsky-Korsakov glossed over their purposeful roughness In his memoirs.

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Rimsky-Korsakov was frankly defensive about what he found in Missouri's manuscripts quote or in exceedingly imperfect order. They're occurred absurd in coherent, harmonies ugly, part writing strikingly illogical modulation or a depressing absence of any at all ill, chosen, instrumentation in general, and audacious self-conceited dilettantism at times moments of technical dexterity and skill.

47:11
But more often of utter technical, impotence. However, these compositions showed so much talent so much originality and offered so much, that was new and alive that their publication was a positive obligation, but publication without a skillful hand, to put them in order would have made no sense. There was need of an addition for performances for making his colossal, talent known and not for the mere study of his artistic sins.

47:42
Unquote, whether Rimsky-Korsakov liked it or not, and the answer is not Mosarchy was a compositional primitive that primitiveism. And with it, the fantastic power and directness that are the hallmarks of his music that primitivism is intrinsic to. His musical. Language is compositional, roughness is what gives his music. Its black earth muscle.

48:10
It's Russianness. According to the American composer and author. Eric Salzman quote, Mosarchkies so-called crudities were in reality departures from the accepted Western European compositional norms, unquote. Its salsman is correct. And I believe that he is then we must accept that as a composer Mosarchi, chose not to be limited by what he perceived as the arbitrary rules of Western tradition.

48:42
Thus relieved of having to follow the rules. He was free to create a melodic and harmonic style based primarily on the idiosyncrasies of Russian speech. All of this takes on great importance, beyond the Russian musical politics of Moshorky's time because 20 years after his death, at the turn of the 20th century, his music became an influential cause celeb and Paris the Parisians adored what they perceived as the brilliant exotic.

49:17
Anti-victorian music of Russia and no one's music better fit that bill than Mzorski's at least until Igor Stravinsky. Came along, Mzoresky's music was embraced by the spectacularly original, and influential, modernist French composer. Claude debut C debut, see wrote of Mosarch ski quote. He is unique and will remain. So because his art is spontaneous and free from our ad formula never has a more refined sensibility.

49:52
Been conveyed by such simple means unquote. Thank you.