The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra is presenting master works concerts Friday and Saturday nights at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Theatre. Maestro David Cho shares more about the event on this Front Row episode.
Tell us about the Mussorgsky piece you will be performing.
Mussorgsky was best known for his “Pictures at an Exhibition” the original piano set of pieces. He, along with many other of the “Big 5,” they were the Russian traditionalists, the nationalists, they were just known for having incredibly copious minds. They were not only imaginative, but they came up with all these beautiful tunes, but at the same time they were notorious for not being able to finish things.
For example, their operas, in fact they got their colleagues at the same school, the same nationalism folks, to finish certain pieces for them…they borrowed, stole, sometimes you could pick out a piece and say “oh that was written by Mussorgsky,” and they’d so, “no that was actually written by another composer.”
So there are instances when you wonder, who wrote what? And Mussorgsky’s piece that we’re performing is really not famous in the Western concert halls, but it saw some sunlight in the early 20th century. Over the course of decades, the orchestras around the world were able to pick out two very delightful, overture-like, like an appetizer, to the rest of the program. The first is an introduction. It’s very quiet. Followed by a marketplace folk dance piece…
Listen to the full interview at the top of the article.
