They might be, oh, just masses of color, or they may be cloud forms or great landscapes or vague shadows or geometrical objects floating in space. Taylor's introduction concludes with the figure of Leopold Stokowski moving center stage to mount the podium and call attention with his hands to orchestral members. After the opening Toccata , images of the orchestra's instruments and players turn more abstract in the Fugue . The ends of violin bows become silver streaks darting through the heavens. Clouds and sky cover the screen.
Music is projected as yellow streaks of light.
Strings are suspended in air played with soaring bows. Discs or wafers resembling objects in space appear and disappear. As the music builds, sparkling bits of fireworks dance and explode in a metamorphosis of light and color. The piece concludes with a huge, orange sunset, over which is superimposed the black silhouette of conductor Stokowski - and then it all fades to black. Now the one composition of Tchaikovsky's that he really detested was his Nutcracker Suite , which is probably the most popular thing he ever wrote.