Ernest Ansermet & Orchestre de la Suisse Romande - Mussorgsky : Pictures at an Exhibition

Between November 1st and 7th 1959, and April 18th and 21th of the same year, two memorable concert recordings took place in the famous Victoria Hall in Geneva: Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" was recorded in late spring,

and Liszt's "Hunnenschlacht" in winter – both works with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and under the baton of the Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet. Ansermet, who enjoyed a deep artistic friendship with Igor Stravinsky, became

concert director of the Kursaal Montreux in 1912 before taking over the Ballets Russes. At the same time, he founded two orchestras: the Orquesta Sinfónica Argentina and the Orchestre Romand. In 1940, with the support of Swiss Radio,

he founded the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, which is closely associated with his name and which he directed until 1967.

Both Mussorgsky's "Pictures At An Exhibition" and Liszt's symphonic poem "Hunnenschlacht" are performed with great strength of character and profit from the Victoria Hall's fine, natural acoustics. At the Esoteric Mastering Center, these

two DECCA treasures were lovingly taken and turned into audiophile highlights – pressed onto high-quality 180-gram vinyl. Although, or perhaps because both recordings are not without controversy in terms of tempi, Esoteric's superbly

sounding reissue is worthwhile for any lover of classical music, as it gives Mussorgsky's generationally inspiring work a transparent, physically and emotionally tangible depth.

Esoteric's reissue of classical music masterpieces has attracted a great deal of attention worldwide. The uncompromising commitment to restoring and editing the original tapes is personally supervised by Mr. Motoaki Ohmachi, founder of Esoteric.

Exclusive new mixes of the master tapes are made for the LP versions of the "Masterpiece Collection". To achieve pristine sound quality, the newly developed "Esoteric Mastering System" is used, including the "Master Sound Discrete DAC"

and "Master Sound Discrete Clock" from Esoteric, as well as Mexcel cables.

Title

Side A

M. P. Mussorgsky (1839~1881): "Pictures At An Exhibition"

1. Promenade – Gnomus

2. Promenade – Il Vecchio Castello

3. Promenade – Tuileries

4. Bydlo

5. Promenade - Ballet Of The Chickens In Their Shells

6. Samuel Goldenberg And Schmuyle

7. The Marketplace At Limoges – Catacombae (Sepulcrum Romanum) – Cum Mortuis In Lingua Mortua

Side B "Pictures At An Exhibition"

1. The Hut On Fowl's Legs (Baba Yaga) – The Great Gate At Kiev

F. Liszt (1811~1886): "Hunnenschlacht"

2. Hunnenschlacht, Symphonic Poem