Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bare Mountain; Boris Godunov Symphonic Synthesis; Entr' acte to Khovanshchina.

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bare Mountain; Boris Godunov Symphonic Synthesis; Entr' acte to Khovanshchina. Symphonic transcriptions by Leopold Stokowski. Oliver Knussen, the Cleveland Orchestra. DG B0002123-02.

Most of us are familiar with Maurice Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's piano portraits, Pictures at an Exhibition, but few of us have probably heard Stokowski's orchestration of them. Of course, we all know Stokowski's rendering of Night on Bare Mountain from having seen Fantasia, and if that kind of thing appeals to you, then this disc might be right up your alley.

Stokowski was (and still is, long after his death) often criticized for his glamorizing of classical music, either by changing the music itself or by interpreting it differently than other conductors. Be that as it may, the fellow had (and still has) quite a following of loyal fans. Indeed, I am impressed by much of the man's recorded work and can understand why so many listeners adore him. This disc of his orchestral rewrites will either convert you or send you packing.

Stokowski's version of Pictures at an Exhibition was done in 1939, more than a decade and a half after Ravel did his familiar reworking. My first and lasting impression of Stokowski's version was one of greater fluency, greater poetry, and greater romanticism than the Ravel orchestration. Unfortunately, ...