Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition for Organ

Calvin’s performance lived up to everyone’s expectations – a tour de force of virtuosity and color – marred only by one glitch, which this recording corrects. During the performance, a piston failed to work properly in the soft section of “The Great Gate at Kiev.” This piston was to bring on the Austin organ’s sepulchral chime stop, which in fact did not happen. So, the audience heard only the soft chords from the regular organ pipes. Not bad, but not what Calvin intended! Immediately after the concert, and after the capacity audience had left the church, Calvin suggested that we re-record the soft passage with the organ chimes so that the recording would fully represent his intent. You hear the final result on this recording.

Engineer John Profitt