It's the late 1800s, and Modest Mussorgsky and his friends Victor Hartmann and Vladimir Stasov want to show the glories of Russia to the world. Modest dreams of writing operas expressing the triumph of his people; Victor longs to design magnificent gates and towers for his homeland; and Vladimir yearns to travel the world spreading the news of Russia's talented artists and musicians.
But their world is turned upside-down when Victor dies suddenly. Modest abandons his dreams of writing beautiful music and shuns the company of his other friends. Vladimir must find a way to help his friend deal with the loss of a loved one and encourage Modest to follow his musical dreams.
Anna Harwell Celenza's moving story explains the inspiration behind Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Using intricate borders featuring traditional folk-design, JoAnn E. Kitchel's vivid and detailed art gives readers a taste of history while bringing these engaging characters to live.
Includes a CD recording of Pictures at an Exhibition, the orchestral version performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy; piano version also played Mr. Ashkenazy.
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