Eternal masterpiece! Was really waiting for this…there are different ways to hear this work either in its original solo piano form (which is UNBELIEVABLY genius) or with Ravel’s orchestration (which is GENIUS on top of GENIUS, endlessly creative)….Mussorgsky wrote it in memory of a close friend of his, it represents a walk through a gallery where you stop to admire many different “paintings” (which actually exist btw) and then move to another one (that beautiful “promenade” theme that introduces and “guides” you through the gallery…sublime.. religiously tranquil but proud…its just divine)…needless to say I love it

damn this was outstanding.. major props to Ravel and Mussorgsky

So big. No matter the size of the ensemble. It's the brilliance of the orchestration the can make it sound so big,

Now that we are doing basics can we do Gregiev directs the Firebird.

Though the titles show up briefly in the video -the pictures represented by the different movements are The Gnome”, which portrays a dwarf through irregular rhythms. “The Old Castle”, which is a grim take on a troubadour singing on castle grounds. “Tuileries” is a depiction of playing children at the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. “Cattle”, which is a thoughtful projection of a large Polish ox cart. “Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks” depicts a work by Hartmann with regard to a children’s ballet. “Samuel Goldenberg & Schmuyle”, where the audience can comprehend a shift from loud to a low-profile theme in the conversation between the Jews. “The Market at Limoges”, which reminds of folk songs. “The Catacombs”, which is wrought with a cold progression of the tune with ominous chords. “The Hut on Fowl’s Legs” is dark and horrifying, complete with nightmarish imagery. “The Great Gate of Kiev” is the final movement with virtuosic octaves Baba Yaga, Hut on Fowl's Legs, is heavy metal before there was heavy metal.

I'm glad we're slowly getting around to more of the standard repertoire :)

Mussorgsky truly was a genius

Mussorgsky also composed A Night on Bald Mountain, which is short but GREAT.

I thought while watching Gidi that he was interested until the penultimate movement "The Hut on Hen's Legs" where he really started to get into the piece. And when it led dramatically and assuredly to "The Great Gate of Kiev", his feelings turned from interest to love! The outstanding scoring for full orchestra by Ravel unleashed the power of the great gate, and transformed this piece from good into "instant classic". Such a great performance, too!

Mussorgsky is one of the great Russian alcoholics. Amazing works for their time. It should also be borne in mind that his music is very national, especially if you refer to the original.

This piece is really special for me because it was the big pandemic project that I was involved in while live concerts were shut down. There were a bunch of virtual performances of various short orchestral pieces that year, but the Socially Distant Orchestra took it a step further and played the entire Pictures at an Exhibition. (I played viola in that.) And that's well worth checking out as an example of music bringing the world together.

oh shittt he found it! huge!

That principal basoonist!!!

The promenade may feel familiar to you, because it is a staple on the German curriculum (alongside pieces such as Vltava, Peter and the Wolf or Le sacre du printemps). I myself had it in 7th or 8th grade. The entire piece depicts an art exhibition of Mussorgsky's good friend Victor Hartmann (originally written for Piano and later transcribed for orchestra, most famously by Maurice Ravel). Some of his paintings are still available online. Similar to Hartmann Mussorgsky left us much to early. He was a heavy drinker and lost his life to it at age 41.

That was a slow-burner, with Bychkov choosing such broad tempi throughout, but it certainly worked for me. I love this piece!

The most amazing thing about this piece is that it was written for the piano. Ravel truly way a genius.

My personal classical favourite for 38 years since I was 17 - plus Khovanshchina.

I have a couple great memories attached to this piece. I played the last two movements on violin in High School orchestra. In addition this is one of my partner's favorite classical pieces, period. I bought us a symphony date to see it performed live.

Oh, this was my request to you once)) I adore the version orchestrated by Ravel. One of my most favourite classical piece in general. Thank you for the reaction!!

Two of the most famous trumpet solos! Amazing piece

Good to see your enjoyment! Sviatoslav Richter found the original piano version of this piece to be the best russian piano music ever written. There are good recordings, I like Kissin for example.

An absolute masterpiece! The orchestra in my city just performed this one this past weekend and I got to see it live; it was magnificent. The original version Mussorgsky wrote for solo piano is MUCH different--Ravel definitely brought an awful lot to the table with his orchestration--but I highly recommend spinning that one sometime to see the difference.

Theres Pictures at exhibition soviet cartoon also, take note.

I know orchestral music is your gig, but you should totally listen to Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s live cover of Pictures at an Exhibition when you find the time. It’s a 70s psychedelic organ rock trip 🎉

So enjoying your enjoyment and appreciation of these moving, beautiful works. I would love to "share" with you Aaron Copland's "Fanfare For the Common Man" - a very brief (under 2 and a half minutes!) but powerful work. If you are interested, there is a 2012 BBC Proms performance on KZfaq that is electrifying. Thank you, for bringing this music to the next generations.

I was a bassoonist in my younger days and this was a challenging but exciting piece to play. I can remember how thrilling it was to finish the Great Gate and have it reverberate around an empty hall during rehearsals. It’s interesting that Ravel seems to feature the winds much more in this piece. Lots of wonderful brass and different instrumentations like contrabassoon, piccolo trumpet and saxophone.

The best recording of this sublime work is the Atlanta Symphony with Yoel Levi conducting. I heard it first as a kid and still to this day it reigns supreme. Especially the Great Gate of Kiev.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it Gidi 😁! I would recommend that you listen to the Chicago Symphony’s recording of The Pines of Rome by Respighi as I have watched many of your reactions and really think you’ll enjoy it!

A couple pieces you should definitely check out. The Coronation scene from Mussorgsky's opera Boris Gudonov has the same glorious energy as The Gate of Kiev. And I think you would really enjoy Rimsky-Korsakov's Suite from Mlada, especially the final Procession of the Nobles.

Great piece of music!!! 💙💙💙💙💙🦩✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

You should try "Night on bald moutain" (the original version has been recorded for instance by Abbado and Berlin Philharmonic). Glad you liked those pieces by Ravel/Mussorgski.

No disrespect to this performance but the recording of this piece from Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is unmatched. I have never seen one that touched me and thrilled me as much. Not only that but there is also a brief explanation by Solti himself on the differences between the Mussorgski piano version and the orchestration by Ravel as well as some snippets of the rehersal and it enhances the experience tenfold. I was lucky that this performance was the very first I listened of this and I was moved to my very core. I almost started tearing up at the and I'm not one to do that. I highly recommend you check out both the explanation and the performance even if you don't record it.

Please please please : Shereazade by Rimsky Korsakov and Carmina Burana by Carl Orff (no spoilers anyone ! ;-)

Love Great Gate

Piece of my youth. I highly recommend first reading roughly what the "movements" describe (there's a concrete paining for each!) and then listening to the original piano solo version Mussorgsky wrote. Ravel's orchestration is wonderful too, though :) Thank you so much for reacting to this Gidi!

Now to react to the original piano piece, Gidi - try to imagine how one pianist paints a picture of the Great Gate of Kiev! 🙂

Don´t tell you recognize this piece from SAO: Gun Gale Online (2018). When it clicked to me I was very excited as an anime fan and a classical music fan.

As a suggestion, you should really do a reaction to Pines of Rome by Respighi. The Karajan version with Berlin Philharmonicin Japan, it's poor video quality but the finale is unmatched. Speakingnof catacombes, the Pines near a Catacombe is a gem!

Great piece to have as an anthem 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

see it live, you will not believe the sound

Try "Khovanshchina", at least the first act.

composers take note - art galleries = great pieces of music

Good day, I wanted to say how much i appreciate what you doing. There isnt much people reacting to classical music, and not many people i know listening to it either, so watching someone reacting to it is pretty cool. However as a Liszt enjoyer i couldn't not notise that you havent reacted to one of his pieces in a long time. If you, by any chance, planning to do some videos on his music my personal suggestions are Dante symphony or his symphonical poems (Mazeppa and les Preludes are really good). But of course react on what you like, i'll be enjoying your videos anyway. -Anyway one more thanks for what you doing and, of course, hope you doing well. (Btw sorry for my retarded english)

still lookin to see you check out some alkan!!!

lets go! you seen my other comment

30:41 O grande portal de Kiev é a parte que mais amo dessa música 🎶

there's a chance you might recognize this from Animusic.

you should react to kazuhito yamashitas cover of the piece on guitar.

Why don u listen to Bruckner？

Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé plis