This research is consecrated to Mussorgsky's famous cycle of character pieces, Pictures at an Exhibition. The author of this study examines, analyzes, and compares divergent perceptions about Mussorgsky's renowned cycle that have emerged among Mussorgsky scholars in Russia and abroad. Due to the fact that there is such an array of diverse viewpoints about Pictures at an Exhibition, some of which are conflicting or even contradictory, there is need to collect, expose, and discuss these findings. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to come to a better understanding of Mussorgsky's composition through a thorough examination of internal evidence and through studying the various insights presented by numerous Mussorgsky researchers. The discoveries shared by Western and Russian scholars will then help performers create a more authentic interpretation of Pictures at an Exhibition based on a solid foundation of knowledge. The other goal of this study is to introduce viewpoints and ideas shared by Russian researchers in the materials that are unavailable in English. These numerous findings shared by Russian scholars may help popularize and promote Mussorgsky's work among the non-Russian readers and performers, as well as introduce Russian perception about Mussorgsky's cycle. Another objective of this document is to study and analyze the composer's score markings, in order to draw performers' attention to this important link between a performer and the composer. Mussorgsky's detailed score markings represent a unique message, in which the composer gives direct and explicit instructions toward interpretation. Therefore, a wise performer would choose to pay close attention to these suggestions in order to create a meaningful performance.This document is organized in three chapters. Chapter I represents an overview of the life and traditions of Russian society in the 18th and 19th centuries; it describes the beginning of the nationalistic movement in Russian music and outlines some significant facts from Mussorgsky's life. Chapter II is dedicated to the genesis and structural analysis of Pictures at an Exhibition. Chapter III explores the divergent perceptions about Mussorgsky's suite expressed by Russian and Western researchers. Illustrations by Victor Hartmann and other Russian painters accompany this document as well as a many musical examples.

Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) never published his piano suite, Pictures at an Exhibition. The first publication of the Pictures was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s (1844-1908) piano edition in 1886, five years after Mussorgsky’s death. Among several piano editions of Pictures, Manfred Schandert’s urtext piano edition of 1984 has shed new light on the piano suite. The urtext edition is based on a facsimile of Mussorgsky’s autograph, and Schandert’s authoritative urtext contains all of Mussorgsky’s musical indications that previous editions neglected to include. Previous orchestrations based on less comprehensive editions include well-known orchestrations by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) and Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977). Vladimir Ashkenazy (b. 1937), on the other hand, derived his orchestration directly from the Schandert edition. In this study I argue that Ashkenazy offers “corrections” to his predecessors, Ravel and Stokowski, whose orchestrations differ—at times radically—from Mussorgsky’s autograph. This dissertation thus will explore the significant features of Ashkenazy’s orchestration in relation to the urtext edition by comparing it to the orchestrations of Ravel and Stokowski. In an age of attempts to present “authentic” versions of past music, Ashkenazy’s orchestration provides an authenticity that other orchestrations lack. Ashkenazy’s orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition provides conductors an alternative performance option that is both effective and more closely related to Mussorgsky’s autograph.

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The present diploma thesis deals with the life and compositional style of M. P. Mussorgsky and the generation of The Five. Subsequently, it focuses on the analysis of Mussorgsky's piano work Pictures at an Exhibition, the circumstances of its origin and its sources of inspiration. In the section devoted to the interpretation concept, this thesis aims to analyze and then compare two selected piano performances of Pictures at an Exhibition, namely the ones by E. Kissin and K. Buniatishvili, on the basis of which it will point out specific features of the concept and way of playing of each of these pianists.