Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition / Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

An increasing number of recordings (Stokowski’s characteristically daring transcription is available on Naxos 8.557645) now feature orchestrations of Mussorgsky’s Pictures other than Ravel’s popular warhorse (Naxos 8.555924). Leonard Slatkin’s eclectic selection, some more outlandish than others, invites us to bask in the high spirits and ingenuity of no fewer than fifteen different composers. The Chinese pianist Peng Peng, who was fourteen at the time of this recording, has won many competitions, including first prize in the 2002 China National Youth Piano Competition.