Sunday, July 28, 2013

Ballet of the Chicken Scratch

To poke at what may be the worst popular composition in the classical keyboard repetoire, Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" appears to borrow from the work of at least one of his contemporaries. In the fifth movement, entitled "Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks," a passage from Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 can be clearly heard. My personal opinion is that Mussorgsky lifted a simple theme for a trite composition, but that is another post.

It is worth pointing out how strongly the second movement of the Mendelssohn concerto (not featured in the clip) resembles that of Chopin's first concerto, which borrows from both the second and third movements. The two were begun in the same year, 1830, Mendelssohn finishing in 1831. The two composers knew each other and the admiration was mutual. I have hyperlinked the text to one instance where the similarity I mention can be heard, but there are others and one can compare the movements entirely, if desired. Pay careful attention to the respective orchestras.

Modest Mussorgsky – "Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks" (1874)
[beginning at 0:37]


Heard here...
Felix Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor (1831)
[beginning at 13:54]

This blog is intended as a space within which I will share my findings related to classical music appropriation. Many composers in the past have quoted, borrowed, and recycled the themes and melodies of others. Having already noted many such instances, I hope to include the more interesting, and convincing, examples herein.

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