Ensemble arabesques / Paul Rivinius

Pictures at an Exhibition

The Ensemble arabesques dedicates this concert to the great French tradition of compositions for woodwinds. Rarely performed and full of atmospheric density is the »Grand Septuor« by George Onslow, who was the first to write romantic ensemble pieces for wind instruments, influencing many composers after him. Among them was Maurice Ravel, who made Modest Mussorgsky‘s arguably most well-known piano work, the »Tableaux d‘une exposition«, world-famous with his ingenious extension of the sound figures with wind voices. Mussorgsky tells the stories behind the works of his deceased friend, the sculptor and painter Viktor Hartmann, in sound pictures that include »Limoges«, »Le marché«, »Tuileries« and »Dispute d‘enfants après jeux«.