It’s a wonderful honour when someone finds your music online and plays it repeatedly. Many thanks to listeners in Singapore (via Spotify) and Malaysia (via Apple Music) for your appreciation of The Art Gallery.

In 1874, Modeste Mussorsky composed a grand memorial work entitled ‘Pictures at an Exhibition‘, which was inspired by an exhibition of over 400 paintings at the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg, by his late friend Viktor Hartmann. ‘Pictures at an Exhibition‘ went on to become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists and became widely known from orchestrations and arrangements produced by other composers, including Maurice Ravel.

‘The Art Gallery‘, in contrast, is on a much smaller scale and is a celebration of the countless number of relatively unknown artists throughout the world who exhibit their work in small local galleries. However, the structure of the piano series does reflect Mussorsky’s work in that each track consists of a promenade (as though you are walking between paintings) followed by a piano piece that reflects the painting itself. The task of the listener is to imagine what each painting might look like.

So why not lie back, close your eyes, listen to ‘The Art Gallery’ and imagine a lovely walk around your favourite exhibition – I hope you enjoy the experience.

Listen to ‘The Art Gallery’ on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube