Most of Mussorgsky’s important compositions were left incomplete at the time of his early death, the result of the composer’s inconsistent commitment to his work and lifelong problem with alcohol. Even the most notable exception, the suite Pictures at an Exhibition for solo piano, is better known now by the many orchestral transcriptions (particularly Maurice Ravel’s) that the composer could never have imagined. Nonetheless, Mussorgsky is often hailed as one of the most important Russian composers of the late nineteenth century, for his distinctive compositional voice and his singular ability to capture the essential folk spirit of his time.
Night on Bald Mountain is almost
always performed in the version later prepared by fellow composer Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov, but the work is unusual in that Mussorgsky did actually arrive
at a complete version on his own.
His original inspiration was an 1860 commission to write an opera
based on Mengden’s drama The
Witch. Mussorgsky did not
satisfy this commission, but he remained intrigued by the idea of writing music
for the scene of a witches’ Sabbath.
He reused sketches from the operatic project on several different
occasions, first arriving at the idea of composing an orchestral tone poem on
the subject in 1866. He completed
this version, known then as
Rimsky-Korsakov considered all of Mussorgsky’s versions problematic, so he completed his own in 1886. His aesthetic priorities were different from Mussorgsky’s, and there are some who insist that Mussorgsky’s version is more effective, with a coarser approach to the orchestration, unpredictable phrasing and structure, and a less serene ending. With materials for the original version now readily available, perhaps it will see its reputation rehabilitated. Yet Rimsky-Korsakov’s version was an instant success, with the audience demanding an encore at its first performance, and it remains a very popular orchestral showpiece.