Toscanini regarded this orchestration of ‘Pictures At an Exhibition’ as a genuine treatise on instrumentation, on a par with that of Berlioz. Scored for the same instrumental forces as ‘La Valse’, Ravel’s version quickly established itself ahead of all the many competing orchestrations of Mussorgsky’s piano suite. In Franois-Xavier Roth’s view, ‘La Valse’ and the ‘Pictures’ together represent the peak of the composer’s output for the symphony orchestra of his time – that is to say, as the musicians of Les Sicles reconstruct it for us today. What a joy to get back to the original colours of this music.

Disc 1
1. Promenade (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
2. Der Gnom (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
3. Promenade (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
4. Das Alte Schloss (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
5. Promenade (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
6. Die Tuilerien (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
7. Bydlo (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
8. Promenade (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
9. Ballett Der Unausgeschlpften Kken (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
10. Samuel Goldenberg Et Schmule (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
11. Der Marktplatz Von Limoges (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
12. Die Katakomben (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
13. Mit Den Toten in Einer Toten Sprache (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
14. Die Htte Auf Hhnerfen – Baba-Jaga (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
15. Das Heldentor (In Der Alten Hauptstadt Kiew) (Modest Mussorgsky) – Les Siecles
16. La Valse (Maurice Ravel) – Les Siecles