Strawinsky: Petruschka – Mussorgsky: Bilder einer Ausstellung (Mariss Jansons) (CD, Br-Klassik)

Two well-known masterpieces of Russian music come together perfectly on the latest CD by Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra: Stravinsky’s ballet Petruschka in its version from 1947, which is brought to the fore by means of a reduced orchestral line-up and the more prominent piano (Lukas Maria Kuen) is more of an instrumental work, a type of concert piece; on the other hand, Mussorgsky’s pictures at an exhibition in the famous colorful orchestral version by Maurice Ravel, thanks to which the cycle, originally written for piano in 1874, became world-famous from 1922 onwards, because it is universally valid and understandable. The recordings were made in November 2014 (Mussorgsky) and April 2015 (Stravinsky) at concerts in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residence and in the Philharmonie im Gasteig.