Mussorgsky via Ravel - Pictures at an exhibition - Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra - RCO09004 (2009) SACD rip via PS3 to iso (1.72GB) | 24bit/88.2kHz flac | 5ch (1.42GB) DR13 (+3.97dB gain) | 2ch (715MB) DR12 (+3.96dB gain) | Classical (live) Telegraph review: A conductor such as Mariss Jansons, who invests so much energy and imagination into eliciting details and refinements from a score, is going to have a distinct advantage in conjuring up the imagery of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. And so it proves on this live recording made in Amsterdam in 2008. But the interesting thing is that Jansons is also acutely aware that the Ravel orchestration of 1922 adds a gleaming, glamorous Gallic patina to Mussorgsky’s original, much rawer and audacious piano pieces. Whereas some interpretations tend to coarsen the edges of Ravel’s instrumental sonorities in a bid to make them sound more “Russian”, Jansons treats the music with the finesse that was one of Ravel’s hallmarks. The liner notes also point to some instances where Ravel’s treatment had a negative impact on the music’s character. Some listeners might not respond readily to a performance in which Mussorgsky is given such a coating of French polish, but it is a reminder that Ravel’s version, while initially inspired by Mussorgsky’s picture gallery, is transformed by his own orchestral palette. Allmusic review: In this day & age, a compact disc with a playing time of 33:02 is more than a tad short, but what is here is stunning: an account of Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition that reveals the grandeur of the music in a performance of tremendous vitality & a recording of stupendous immediacy. Mariss Jansons finds things in this well-known score that most conductors miss -- details of articulation, phrasing & balance that often go unnoted -- & brings out the work's enormous variety of forms, moods, & colors. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam plays with its accustomed super virtuosity, reveling in overcoming the score's prodigious challenges with effortless panache. RCO Live's super audio recording captures everything in sound that puts the listener in the Concertgebouw about 10 rows back from the stage. But, really, only 33:02? Why not more Ravel or more Mussorgsky, a bit of Borodin or a slice of Stravinsky? What's here is inestimable, but it leaves the listener eager for more. Artist Credit Daan van Aalst Assistant Engineer Marco Borggreve Photography Simon van Boxtel Photography Michiel Cleij Liner Notes Clemence Comte Liner Note Translation Josh Dillon Liner Note Translation Mariss Jansons Conductor, Primary Artist Modest Mussorgsky Composer Mario Nozza Assistant Engineer Erwin Peters Liner Note Translation Everett Porter Editing, Engineer, Producer Maurice Ravel Orchestration Recorded Sound Composer RCO Orchestra, Primary Artist Carl Schuurbiers Assistant Engineer ===================================================== foobar2000 1.1.15 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1 log date: 2012-10-14 00:06:56 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Analyzed: Mariss Jansons & RCO / Mussorgsky - Pictures at an exhibition -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR Peak RMS Duration Track (iso @ 0dB gain) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR13 -6.81 dB -27.07 dB 1:38 01-Promenade DR16 -4.82 dB -29.50 dB 2:48 02-Gnomus DR12 -21.01 dB -34.16 dB 0:59 03-Promenade DR13 -16.29 dB -33.15 dB 4:27 04-Il vecchio castello DR11 -12.53 dB -28.84 dB 0:31 05-Promenade DR14 -13.88 dB -33.00 dB 1:05 06-Tuileries DR13 -5.58 dB -26.21 dB 2:46 07-Bydlo DR11 -13.93 dB -31.07 dB 0:46 08-Promenade DR12 -16.15 dB -33.41 dB 1:14 09-Ballet des poussins dans leurs coques DR15 -7.22 dB -29.29 dB 2:33 10-Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuyle DR13 -12.09 dB -29.54 dB 1:23 11-Limoges, le marché DR13 -8.52 dB -28.24 dB 2:09 12-Catacombae, sepulchrum Romanum DR12 -20.20 dB -34.14 dB 2:05 13-Cum mortuis in lingua mortua DR15 -4.08 dB -25.80 dB 3:28 14-La cabane sur des pattes de poule DR14 -3.40 dB -23.09 dB 5:09 15-Le grande porte de Kiev DR12 -10.07 dB -27.36 dB 0:34 16-Applause -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of tracks: 16 Official DR value: DR13 Samplerate: 2822400 Hz / PCM Samplerate: 176400 Hz Channels: 5 Bits per sample: 24 Bitrate: 14112 kbps Codec: DST64 ===================================================== Checksum for iso: 8dbd84c4129582aaa57c02779b05c4ba *RCO - Mussorgsky Ravel - Pictures at an exhibition.iso Checksums for flac tracks 5ch: cf525b9e5381c8bbb8fd753eb9ab2ebc *01 - Promenade.flac 63f879319da67de34eb6753c3b22b661 *02 - Gnomus.flac 15cf4a9e2fd7382c1576e1c6e03df9f8 *03 - Promenade.flac 06deb52a311c741f37ee3ea454fe166e *04 - Il vecchio castello.flac 5fc8b208d73bb038b1e19759144fc7ec *05 - Promenade.flac 06b5d0b835d42a35232fe6ccf20da065 *06 - Tuileries.flac 3bea4097d2d211972540e3b72a097d81 *07 - Bydlo.flac 849a460581f5956727e5edcd7af5bdc7 *08 -Promenade.flac 0c0ecc6eeac9b742265a4a124d040982 *09 - Ballet des poussins dans leurs coques.flac af0357a19f4571b78de63316578cf621 *10 - Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuyle.flac 198e7d4619a643bcc212b5b349751370 *11 - Limoges, le marche.flac 20ac340c06c965f947c47f0eeb914c5f *12 - Catacombae, sepulchrum Romanum.flac ff591e7131f2ffb146f2619c26f276e1 *13 - Cum mortuis in lingua mortua.flac 2960213e3686b36165f089cd93e627e6 *14 -La cabane sur des pattes de poule.flac 50ebb0d967c43acac8e5acb2dc6c04f8 *15 - Le grande porte de Kiev.flac 1475a53623d4fed77e59d4468dc74c60 *16 - Applause.flac Checksums for flac tracks 2ch: 42eec77d3d9e998f48c016a1b5c90e8f *01 - Promenade.flac 25cb6190a50393e92f78f98c261dc927 *02 - Gnomus.flac d471d69f1e70209e4c7616cc9a34064d *03 - Promenade.flac 79d8713d654a52ed5b87e880809fa97a *04 - Il vecchio castello.flac ff94f40f2e63514631b6028817fddf2d *05 - Promenade.flac f2194a219a664d5830698720fa5d296a *06 - Tuileries.flac ce567c5af6d89583647686e800d5f2a0 *07 - Bydlo.flac e7bfdab3a4e4e2025c8be6c363a2f4f6 *08 - Promenade.flac aca7aa26551a21396628b8ffb8d835af *09 - Ballet des poussins dans leurs coques.flac c8cb289b83ebb276b0a73010be89a4d0 *10 - Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuyle.flac 970b3e849d0a5e2f4e1e0f49d8dfb5d4 *11 - Limoges, le marche.flac 9593904cdc4d0191d63532fd49ca81c4 *12 - Catacombae, sepulchrum Romanum.flac a48b1c2c80a205434f6721f9e44635af *13 - Cum mortuis in lingua mortua.flac cb2f13ff97da3f1779e2870f7b2171f4 *14 - La cabane sur des pattes de poule.flac bb1caf478ad012bf51c730658bc613de *15 - Le grande porte de Kiev.flac 08523ebeba7825546195822cfb695488 *16 - Applause.flac