In 1874, Mussorgsky wrote his famous piano cycle inspired by an exhibition of pictures by his friend Viktor Hartmann. The resources of musical realism are used to describe the ten pictures in great detail; the interposed Promenades then reflect the subjective impressions and feelings of the visitor looking at the pictures. This edition is based on Mussorgsky's original score, with the addition of a few markings apparently overlooked by the composer, inserted in brackets. Fingerings have been added, together with the original comments on individual pieces from the first edition. These comments by the art critic Vladimir Stassov, the organizer of the exhibition, outline the programmatic nature of the musical composition.