Russian National Orchestra & Carlo Ponti - Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition - Night on the Bare Mountain (2018)

These well known pieces are presented in superb sound. Carlo Ponti Jr. is the son of Carlo Ponti Sr. and Sophia Loren and is a regular conductor of the Russian National Orchestra.

"It may seem perverse with a Russian orchestra to have the least Russian-sounding orchestration of Pictures, albeit the most inspired one. Yet Carlo Ponti, so far as he can, brings out the Russian-ness of Mussorgsky's inspiration with each of the pictures sharply characterised and with much delicate playing in such items as The Fair at Limoges set against the weight of the tuttis, notably in the final Great Gate at KievThat goes with recording of extreme dynamic range, arguably too extreme for domestic comfort. The wind solos are specially impressive, as in the horn descant in the Great Gate of KievIn short, an excellent version of a much-recorded showpiece. Night on Bare Mountain comes in the highly unauthentic but undeniably effective Rimsky version, brilliantly played here with powerful bite. The Khovanshchina excerpts make an effective, atmospheric filler, but the disc offers rather short measure at just on an hour. The Super Audio recording adds to the impact of the performances, well engineered by PentaTone technicians trained by Philips." (Gramophone Magazine, Edward Greenfield)

“...the performances with Carlo Ponti conducting [bring] out the inherent beauty of the melodic passages and the lyrical or descriptive passages... The audio quality is quite excellent... Everything is simply musical and the three excerpts (from Khovanshchina and The Sorochinsky Fair) are a frosting on this musical cake... a solid recommendation is easily given here.” (Positive-feedback)

"Pictures is phenomenal. Jaw-dropping. Inspiring. Riveting. Astonishing. There are some truly fine recordings in the world and this one is full of emotion, Ponti's handling of the content is calculated, articulate, raw, and passionate. It's evident by the handling of this material, especially an orchestral piece that is so demanding. Pictures goes through such a wide range of emotions from start to finish and its dynamics are fully realized here. I would easily say that this recording needs to be in the hands of any serious classical fan immediately, it's that good!" (Nate Goss, Fulvue Drive-In)

Russian National Orchestra
Carlo Ponti, conductor