At last, Sony offers a domestic reissue of the finest recording of Pictures at an Exhibition in the history of the universe. Well, okay, there are other terrific versions, including Reiner (RCA) and Abbado (DG), but this one has everything–great playing and a big, gutsy interpretation that not only characterizes each section beautifully but also welds the suite together into an extremely satisfying whole. The panoramic final pages, from the start of the tolling bell section, have no peer in terms of detail and sheer sonic splendor, and this is one of the best-sounding recordings that Ormandy and Philly ever got from Sony. So the bottom line is that if you don’t own this and you love the work, you need it, and urgently. To be fair, I understand why reissuing it wasn’t a priority: Sony has other, excellent versions of the piece, including Bernstein’s and Szell’s; but even among an embarrassment of riches this is the one to have.
Ironically, Pictures gets second billing on this disc. The headline event is a selection of excerpts from Boris Godunov featuring George London in the title role. You get the coronation scene, Boris’ Act 2 monologue, the hallucination scene, and his farewell and death. London recorded the work complete with Bolshoi forces a couple of years after this recording (they all date from the early to mid-1960s), and that version also was released by Sony. God only knows if it’s still available. London sounds in marginally fresher voice here–his imposing but always slightly gravelly timbre had not yet degenerated into a wobble–but he’s just fine in the Bolshoi set too. Thomas Schippers conducts with typical flair and gets good results from both the chorus and orchestra, and there’s no denying the attraction of having an all-Mussorgsky disc that doesn’t offer the same old stuff (like A Night on Bald Mountain and one or two other fillers). Nevertheless, Ormandy’s Pictures remains the major event. [6/14/2006]
