effective Rehearsal Methods, Conducting Gestures and Techniques of Pictures at an Exhibition

Includes bibliographical references (pages 1-1)After the Romantic era, which materialized the fundamental concepts of aesthetics, the patriotism among the public was induced from the emancipation of serfs during mid-19th century, and there were Russian musicians who attempted to express the unique color of Russia in music and free their music from the influence of German music. Amidst such movements, a group of Russian nationalist composers known as ???the Five??? was formed, and among this group, Mussorgsky became the leading figure. One of his well-known piano pieces, Pictures at an Exhibition was the most noted program music. It featured realism escaping from the nationalistic elements and romanticism, which were the main interest of composers at the time. Many composers have arranged Mussorgsky???s piece, but one of the most played is the orchestration by Ravel. In this paper, I will discuss effective rehearsal methods and conducting techniques for the Ravel orchestration. This paper not only analyses musical structures and meaning intended by the composer, but also identifies potential issues that can occur during rehearsal and discusses whether these issues occurred or not Mussorgsky has added his own unique creative and rich imagination to the piece rather than simply describing the image the picture. This paper will describe how the conductor can express the composer???s intentions through various conducting techniques. Additionally, this study will also describe how issues resolved during rehearsal are reflected in actual performance, and how players were able to establish an open communication channel based on the actual performance held during the Master???s Graduation Recital, presented on December 5, 2014. The rehearsal methods and conducting techniques presented in this paper resulted in a great performance which fully reflected the intentions of the conductor, and it also produced a persuasive interpretation of Pictures at an Exhibition