
This is one of Pletnev's first discs, but it's new to my collection, so here goes. The Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition is magnificent and occasionally inventive, with original pianistic touches here and there that add to the music rather than detract from it. Pletnev's touch is sure, his dynamic range is wide, and his sense of tempo and drama unfaltering. Pictures is a problematic piece for pianists, some of whom like to play it as if were an orchestral piece (it's not): think Richter (1958 Sofia), Horowitz, or in today's generation, Boris Giltburg. Pletnev doesn't do that, a strategy that is not always successful for other artists, but here is intriguingly appropriate given the genesis of the work. Pletnev also provides us with his own arrangements of music from Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty" which satisfy greatly. Thus, we have, IMHO, an album not to be missed. Five stars.