Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite, Op 71a - YouTube Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite, Op 71a Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Dec 11, 2011 The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky made a selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet, forming The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, intended for concert performance. The Nutcracker Suite should not be mistaken for the complete ballet. The outline below represents the selection and sequence of the Nutcracker Suite culled by the composer. I. Miniature Overture 0:00 Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker - Classic FM Classic FM Music Now Playing Schedule Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker is a ballet for a certain time of year.

It's charmed Christmas audiences over the years with its range of gorgeous music and romantic imagery, but the performances and interpretations have changed hugely. Audiences in St Petersburg were promised ‘a fairy-tale ballet’ in the winter of 1892 when, all around the city, posters began to appear advertising the much anticipated new project from Tchaikovsky. He had been commissioned to set to music a popular family story called 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse-King', a festive favourite which begins on Christmas Eve in the house of two young children, Clara and Fritz. The family is gathered around the Christmas tree. Soon, they welcome the arrival of Uncle Drosselmeyer, who conveniently happens to be a toymaker with some suitable gifts in tow. Over the course of the next ninety minutes, the story encompasses waltzing snowflakes, a handsome prince and some warring mice, as the toys come to life and give Clara and Fritz a Christmas they will never forget. There is a wonderfully vivid, pictorial quality to Tchaikovsky’s colourful music. From the elegant Waltz of the Flowers to the thrilling Russian Dance, the score is a feast of wonderful melodies.

Other favourites include the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies and the Dance of the Reed Flutes. Tchaikovsky had several reservations about it – not surprising, given the less than ecstatic response to some of his earlier works – but the composer evidently had nothing to fear - it has become a perennial Christmas favourite on stage, and the music is adored all year round, with bold new interpretations cropping up year after year. Illustration: Mark Millington The Nutcracker, Op. 71 | ballet by Tchaikovsky | Britannica.com The Nutcracker, Op. 71 musical composition The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Russian Shchelkunchik, ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky . The last of his three ballets, it was first performed in December 1892. The story of The Nutcracker is loosely based on the E.T.A. Hoffmann fantasy story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, about a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King.

Hoffmann’s story is darker and more troubling than the version that reached the stage; the Imperial Russian Ballet choreographer Marius Petipa chose to follow a light adaptation of the story written by Alexandre Dumas père . Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1874. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (file no. LC-USZ62-128254) Tchaikovsky began work in February 1891, continuing his efforts while on an American tour later that year for the opening of Carnegie Hall . His homeward journey took him through Paris , where he discovered a new instrument: the celesta , whose clear, bell-like tone was perfectly fitted to The Nutcracker’s fairy-tale ambience . In the celesta’s ethereal notes, Tchaikovsky recognized the “voice” of his Sugar Plum Fairy, and he immediately wrote to his publisher, asking that the instrument be acquired for the performance. Selections from The Nutcracker were first performed as an orchestral suite in March 1892. The ballet proper debuted in December of that year. It was presented at St.

Petersburg ’s Mariinsky Theatre on a double bill with Tchaikovsky’s one-act opera , Iolanta. In a letter to a friend, Tchaikovsky himself remarked, “Apparently the opera gave pleasure, but the ballet not really; and, as a matter of fact, in spite of all the sumptuousness it did turn out to be rather boring.” He thought little of it, describing it as “infinitely worse than Sleeping Beauty.” The reference was to the second of his three ballets; the first had been Swan Lake. Similar Topics Peter and the Wolf Yet responsibility for the failure was not, apparently, wholly the composer’s. Petipa had fallen ill, and the choreography was instead devised by his less-inspired assistant. Additionally, the scenery and costumes were panned as tasteless, and the performance of the ballerina who danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy was widely criticized. The newspapers reviled Tchaikovsky, and he did not live to see the piece succeed. Despite the failure of its initial performance, The Nutcracker has become the most frequently performed of all ballets and has served as an introduction to classical music for many young people.

Because the first act is set at a Christmas party, the ballet is often presented at Christmastime. Toy story: Chewing over Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker | Music | The Guardian Pyotr Tchaikovsky Toy story: Chewing over Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Those who dismiss the composer's Christmas favourite as a throwaway should consider the sad events behind its creation Sweet nothings … Thiago Soares (the Prince) and Sarah Lamb (Sugar Plum Fairy) in the Royal Ballet's version of The Nutcracker. Photograph: Tristram Kenton Gavin Plumley Friday 16 December 2011 17.54 EST First published on Friday 16 December 2011 17.54 EST Share on Messenger Close Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote music for the soul. Yet The Nutcracker – the balletic equivalent of a Terry's Chocolate Orange – has seemingly few claims to profundity. Snowflakes and Sugar Plum Fairies are hardly the stuff of great drama. At the ballet's premiere in 1892, the audience couldn't see anything beyond the glitzy packaging.

Like us, they wondered how Tchaikovsky, the great empathiser, could have written something so shallow. Commissioned by the Imperial Mariinsky theatre as a festive treat, The Nutcracker reunited Tchaikovsky with the great choreographer Marius Petipa (though he later withdrew because of illness). Following the huge success of The Sleeping Beauty in 1890 , the tsar's theatrical minions wanted another hit from the famed duo. They commanded a double bill, requiring Tchaikovsky to write scores for both an opera and a ballet. Iolanta , about a blind princess saved by love, was the composer's idea for the first half, while Petipa plumped for ETA Hoffmann 's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King as the basis for his ballet. Unable to refuse the tsar's demands, Tchaikovsky was forced to bite off more than he could crack. As with The Sleeping Beauty, Petipa took charge of the synopsis of the ballet and created two rather facile scenarios. The first act is a children's pantomime, complete with party games. During the festivities, Uncle Drosselmeyer gives Clara a toy nutcracker.

At night, the doll – with his nephew trapped inside by an evil mouse – comes back to life and takes Clara on a miraculous journey. By the second act the young pair have reached the Kingdom of Sweets, where confected treats dance for their delight. When Petipa handed over the synopsis, including a bar-by-bar musical wish list, Tchaikovsky was appalled. "I am experiencing a kind of crisis," he said. After the glorious pageantry of The Sleeping Beauty, this was infantile stuff. But his depression was more pervasive: the relentless sniping of the St Petersburg critics had got to him, the tsar had snubbed his latest opera The Queen of Spades and his muse-like friendship with Nadezhda von Meck had come to a bitter end. With an imperial commission hanging over him, however, there was little he could do. Leaving the frozen Russian winter behind, Tchaikovsky hid in Rouen in early 1891, desperately trying to compose. But nothing sparked his interest and the music that emerged was dry and lifeless. The double bill was due on stage later that year, but the tsar would just have to wait. Worse was yet to come.

While travelling through Paris on his way to an American tour, Tchaikovsky read about the death of his beloved sister Sasha. Hysterical, he described an increasingly split personality: the one crumbling inside and the other that he had to maintain for adoring transatlantic fans. But instead of damaging his new project, Sasha's death rekindled Tchaikovsky's inspiration. It was not the first time that disaster had inspired his creativity: the opera Eugene Onegin was the product of a brief but catastrophic marriage. This time, The Nutcracker was going to be a repository for Tchaikovsky's grief. After Sasha's death, the composer embraced the ballet. In Clara, he found a parallel for his sister. Memories of their childhood and the last Christmas they spent together, in 1890, fuelled the music. The whole ballet was transformed by his change in attitude, with Tchaikovsky imagining himself as the magician Drosselmeyer. In a particularly fantastical sequence, Clara and the Nutcracker fight the Mouse King. Clara thwacks the rodent over the head with her slipper and breaks the spell , releasing the dashing Hans Peter.

Heroism and freedom find voice in one of Tchaikovsky's most longing melodies. Clara has become a woman, and in her the spirit of Sasha lives on. For something that been conceived as children's entertainment, the music wonderfully overstates its case. Despite this emotional power, people continue to dismiss the ballet, just as they did in 1892. David Brown, the first person to write openly about Tchaikovsky's private life in his 2007 biography , suggests many allegorical readings for The Sleeping Beauty but felt there was little point in analysing The Nutcracker, however "relaxing" and glorious its music. And many still approach the seasonal glut of productions with the indifference of one dragged to the office party. Tchaikovsky's "In Memoriam" deserves better. Even Peter Wright , who produced the Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet's versions of the tale in 1984 and 1990 respectively, was initially hesitant about the story. But by trusting the melancholic colours in the score, his productions are the most emotionally acute to date.

Clara's journey takes us out of the everyday and, liberated from the Nutcracker's wooden shackles, Hans Peter becomes her guardian angel. This is a story that confronts mortality head on. The landscapes change and Tchaikovsky unfolds a dazzling network of themes. The young pair's journey is like a dancing Dream of Gerontius . The Kingdom of Sweets appears through Petipa's sea of lemonade like a candied afterlife. In the original production, the ballet ended in the Sugar Plum Fairy's frosted domain. Today, many versions return Clara and Hans Peter home at the end of their dream. While that sub-John Bunyan conclusion deftly joins the acts together, Tchaikovsky (and Petipa) concealed more understated signs of the transience of things. The ballet's second act is a reflection of the first, with the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince appearing as seraphic counterparts for Clara and her consort. While the latter pair dance to a rising melody, the Sugar Plum Fairy's pas de deux with the Prince is dominated by a solemn descending motif. The "Waltz of the Flowers", with its brooding minor passages, echoes the triple-time dance through the snowflakes.

And in Petipa's original scenario, the second act's jaunty divertissements had opposite numbers in Clara's family party. Tchaikovsky's virtually palindromic sequence of keys highlights that these are all divine reflections of life on earth. The Nutcracker undoubtedly poses much larger questions than is often suggested. Like the wise men of TS Eliot's "Journey of the Magi" , Tchaikovsky asks whether we were "led all that way for / Birth or Death". During the final three years of his life, valediction dominated the composer's thoughts. He began a new symphony while awaiting proofs of The Nutcracker in May 1892. Although Tchaikovsky abandoned those early sketches, it was the beginning of plans for his forlorn Pathétique symphony. The deathly muse struck again two months after the premiere of The Nutcracker and he drafted the entire symphony in just under a month. Nine days after the first performance in October 1893, Tchaikovsky was dead. Rumours of suicide can never be proved, but death had certainly been on the composer's mind for some time.

Far from the anticipated tinselled treat, The Nutcracker finally offers a soulful message. Its towering Christmas tree and "Everyone's a Fruit & Nut case" dances will continue to fill audiences with cheer. But a deeper understanding of the score and Tchaikovsky's state of mind uncovers a much richer interpretation. As with Andy's departure at the end of Toy Story 3 or the sight of Snowman's melted remains, innocence fades and magic ends. But Tchaikovsky is there to wipe our tears. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) Musical notes for school children Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) How to say the name: ‘Tchaikovsky’ is said like Chii-cough-ski. ‘Pyotr Ilyich’ is saide like ‘Peter Il-itch’ (although I’m not certain about these two first names). Born: 7th May 1840 in Votkinsk, Vyatka, Russia (Votkinsk is now in the Udmurt Republic).

Tchaikovsky’s grave in St Petersburg Died: 6th November 1893 in St Petersbrg, Russia. Buried: Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St Petersburg. Type of Music: 1812 Overture (for orchestra, choir—and real canons!). Marche Slave (Slavonic March)—for orchestra. Many short dances from ‘The Nutcracker’ (a ballet ), such as the ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’. ( See below for a video.) The beginning of Piano Concerto No. 1. (See the romantic page for a video.) Some great pieces: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 and 6. ( See below for a video of No. 5.) Piano Concerto No. 1. The Nutcracker (a ballet) ( See below for a video from this ballet.) Eugene Onegin (an opera ). The Queen of Spades (an opera). Some interesting facts: His music is some of the most popular classical music ) around today. Many people who don’t normally listen to classical music will recognise a tune or two by Tchaikovsky! His music often has very beautiful tunes. His music is full of strong emotions.

These strong emotions can be heard and understood very easily. The strongest emotions are probably in Symphony No. 6 (the ‘Pathetique’). This symphony was first heard only nine days before he died. His music sounds Russian to people outside Russia. However, it sounded like Western European music to people in Russia at the time it was written. His ballets are the world’s most popular ballets. And ‘The Nutcracker’ is performed all over the UK around Christmas time. The ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ from ‘The Nutcracker’ is famous for using an instrument that was very new at the time—the celesta (see below for a video). This looks like a small piano and makes a tinkly sound (this instrument also appears at the beginning of the ‘Harry Potter’ film music). Although the 1812 Overture is very popular, Tchaikovsky didn’t really like it! There is a bit of a mystery about how Tchaikovsky died. Some say he died of cholera, while others say he killed himself. Here is a video of the part of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Part of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.

5 And here is a video of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker. You can’t see the orchestra, but it will be underneath and in front of the stage. This tinkly instrument you can hear is called a celesta. ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ from Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ There is another video of music by Tchaikovsky on the following page: Choose another composer of classical music . Picture credits: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This is a painting from 1893. The image is in the public domain. Click here for the source of this image, along with the relevant copyright information. Tchaikovsky’s grave in St Petersburg. This photograph was taken by Steven N. Severinghaus on the 23rd March 2003. This image is free to use providing one credits the photographer. Click here for the source of this image, along with the relevant copyright information. Video credits: Tchaikovsky : Symphony No.5 in E minor Op.64：ashkenazy.

Tchaikovsky : Symphony No.5 in E minor Op.64, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Ashkenazy, 2007, Tokyo. (The same information is also given in Japanese.) This video is from the third movement. Sugar Plum Fairy Dance. 2008 rehearsal IDT ballet production of the Nutcracker. Guest Artist Sugar Plum Fairy. { 3 comments… read them below or add one } 1 katie 2nd October 2011 i love the nut cracker a beautiful peice of music. do you by chance know if peter composed secular or sacred music and if itis monophonic or polyphonic and if it is vocal or instrumental ? i know this is a lot of questions but it would be a big help to me thank you for your time .( i would need these nswers today) dear catie 2 Malcolm Pullan 2nd October 2011 Thank you for your question Katie. Tchaikovsky wrote all sorts of music. Most of his music was secular (i.e. not for the church), but he did write some sacred music (i.e. for the church).

His most well known scared music is probably “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom”. This was written for the Russian Orthodox Church. It sounds quite different from most western scared music. Some of this music is polyphonic. As far as I know, Tchaikovsky’s sacred music is vocal only. This is because traditional Russian Orthodox music does not use any instruments. 3 Mia 19th October 2016 I love his songs! The Nutcracker- Tchaikovsky- Fairy Tale- Elena V. Baranoff- Christmas Dance- Palekh Artist - YouTube The Nutcracker- Tchaikovsky- Fairy Tale- Elena V. Baranoff- Christmas Dance- Palekh Artist Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Published on Sep 16, 2012 Christmas Eve Is Here At Last - Part 3 -- Christmas Dance The beautiful watercolor painting "Christmas Eve Is Here At Last" created by Russian-American fine artist Elena Vladimir Baranoff, was inspired by E. T. A. Hoffmann's fairy tale story The Nutcracker and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for the ballet The Nutcracker. To view the "Christmas Eve Is Here At Last" painting please visit "Christmas Eve Is Here At Last" Copyright © Elena V. Baranoff "Christmas Eve is Here At Last" was created in 2005 in translucent and opaque watercolor on watercolor paper. A Few Words of Christmas Inspiration From Fine Artist Elena V. Baranoff! Christmas Eve Is Here At Last - Part 3 -- Christmas Dance One of the main inspirations for creating my painting "Christmas Eve Is Here At Last", was the enchanting tale of E.T.A. Hoffmann The Nutcracker, a wonderful story so adored by many, dearly reminding us all of childhood and dreams.

During the creation of the painting, I was happily revisited by the most vivid recollections of childhood, settled in my memory from long ago; they carried me away to the past full of wonderful adventures. The happy faces of children depicted in my painting and their energy, told through the dynamic drawing and unity of colors, are part of my imagined fairy tale world of an artist, reminiscent of the delightful time of childhood. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Biography Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893) Russian Tchaikovsky was one of the earlier students of the St. Petersburg Conservatory established by Anton Rubinstein, completing his studies there to become a member of the teaching staff at the similar institution established in Moscow by Anton Rubinstein's brother Nikolay. He was able to withdraw from teaching when a rich widow, Nadezhda von Meck, offered him financial support which continued for much of his life, although, according to the original conditions of the pension, they never met. Tchaikovsky was a man of neurotic diffidence, his self-doubt increased by his homosexuality.

His music is thoroughly Russian in character, but, although he was influenced by Balakirev and the ideals of the Five Russian nationalist composers, he may be seen as belonging rather to the more international school of composition fostered by the Conservatories that Balakirev so much deplored. Two above all of Tchaikovsky's operas have retained a place in international repertoire. Eugene Onegin, based on a work by Pushkin, was written in 1877, the year of the composer's disastrous and brief attempt at marriage. He returned to Pushkin in 1890 with his powerful opera The Queen of Spades. Tchaikovsky, a master of the miniature forms necessary for ballet, succeeded in raising the quality of the music provided for an art that had undergone considerable technical development in 19th century Russia under the guidance of the French choreographer Marius Petipa. The first of Tchaikovsky's full length ballet-scores was Swan Lake, completed in 1876, followed in 1889 by The Sleeping Beauty. His last ballet, based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, was Nutcracker, first staged in St.

Petersburg in December 1892. Tchaikovsky wrote six symphonies. The first of these, sometimes known as Winter Daydreams, was completed in its first version in 1866 but later revised. The second of the symphonies, the so- called Little Russian was composed in 1872 but revised eight years later. Of the other symphonies the fifth, with its motto theme and waltz movement in the place of a scherzo was written in 1888, while the last completed symphony, known as the "Pathétique", was first performed under Tchaikovsky's direction shortly before his death in 1893. Tchaikovsky turned to literary and dramatic sources for a number of orchestral compositions. His first Fantasy Overture after Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, was written 1869 and later twice revised. Bunya is a symphonic fantasia inspired by The Tempest and the last of the Shakespearean fantasy overtures, Hamlet, was written in 1888.

Francesca da Rimini translates into musical terms the illicit love of Francesca and Paolo, as recounted in Dante's Inferno and Manfred, written in 1885, draws inspiration from the poem of that name by Byron. The Voyevoda is described as a symphonic ballad and is based on a poem by Mickiewicz. Other, smaller scale orchestral compositions include the Serenade for strings, the popular Italian Capriccio, and rather less well known, four orchestral suites. Tchaikovsky thought little of his 1812 Overture, with its patriotic celebration of victory against Napoleon seventy years before, while Marche Slave had a topical patriotic purpose. Souvenir de Florence, originally for string sextet, was completed in 1892 in its final version. The first of Tchaikovsky's three piano concertos has become the most generally popular of all romantic piano concertos. The second concerto is less well known, while the third, started in 1893, consists of a single movement Allegro de concert.

Tchaikovsky's single Violin Concerto, rejected as being too difficult by the leading violinist in Russia, Leopold Auer, later found a firm place in repertoire. For solo cello Tchaikovsky wrote the Rococo Variations and the Pezzo capriccioso. Shorter pieces for violin and orchestra include the Sérénade mélancholique and the Valse-scherzo. Souvenir d'un lieu cher, written as an expression of gratitude for hospitality to Madame von Meck, was originally for violin and piano. Chamber Music Tchaikovsky's chamber music includes three string quartets. The slow movement of the first of these has proved very popular both in its original form and in an arrangement by the composer for cello and string orchestra. The Andante funébre of the third quartet also exists in an arrangement by the composer for violin and piano. Tchaikovsky provided a quantity of music for the piano, particularly in the form of shorter pieces suited to the lucrative amateur market. Collections of pieces published by the composer include The Seasons, a set of twelve pieces, one for each month, and a number of sets of pieces of varying degrees of difficulty.

Tchaikovsky wrote a considerable quantity of songs and duets, including settings of Goethe's Mignon songs as well as of verses by a number of his contemporaries. The Nutcracker - Tchaikovsky Research The Nutcracker Jump to: navigation , search The Nutcracker (Щелкунчик) [1] , Op. 71 ( TH 14 ; ČW 14), is a fairy ballet in 2 acts and 3 scenes, written and orchestrated by Tchaikovsky between February 1891 and April 1892. The story was based on a children's fairy tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann , adapted by Alexandre Dumas . This was Tchaikovsky's last ballet, from which he compiled a famous Suite of eight numbers for concert performance.

Contents 12 Notes and References Instrumentation The ballet is scored for a large orchestra consisting of 3 flutes, 2 piccolos, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets (in A, B-flat), bass clarinet (in B-flat), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in A, B-flat), 3 trombones, tuba + 3 timpani, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum, military drum, tam tam, glockenspiel, triangle, castanets, toy instruments (rattle, trumpet, drums, cuckoo, quail, cymbals), celesta (or piano) + 2 harps, violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses. The Waltz of the Snowflakes (Act I, No. 9) includes a wordless chorus. Tchaikovsky instructed that "This chorus should comprise 12 sopranos and 12 altos. It is all the more desirable that they should be youths from a choir.

But if this is impractical, then this choral part may be performed by 24 voices an operatic chorus". The toy instruments are used in Act I (No. 5), and Tchaikovsky noted in the score that "These instruments are essentially the same as those used in the first scene of The Queen of Spades . They should be played at the points indicated by the children in the scene”, and also: “The Rattle (Schnarre) is as used in the children's symphonies by Haydn , Romberg, etc. It should be obtainable in any musical store". At the head of the opening Scena (Act II, No. 10), Tchaikovsky noted: “The artist performing the Celesta part should be a good pianist”. In the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy (No. 14, Var. 2), he noted that “If the celesta is unavailable, then this part may be played on the piano”. Movements and Duration Tchaikovsky's original score contains an overture and 15 numbers. Act I is divided into two scenes (comprising Nos. 1–7 and Nos. 8–9).

The titles of numbers in French (italic type) and Russian (Cyrillic) are taken from the published score, with English translations added in bold type. Overture (Ouverture ; Интродукция) Final Waltz and Apotheosis (Valse finale et Apothéose ; Финальный вальс и Апофеоз) Tempo di Valse–Molto meno (294 bars) A complete performance of The Nutcracker lasts around 90 minutes. Libretto The libretto was compiled by Ivan Vsevolozhsky and Marius Petipa [6] , after the story of Histoire d'un Casse-Noisette (1845) by Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), which was an adaptation from the German of Der Nußknacker und Mausekönig (1816) by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) [7] . Synopsis The story is set in eighteenth-century Germany: Act I.

It is Christmas Eve in the home of President Silberhaus of the Town Council and his children, Clara and Fritz (Scene 1). The parents are decorating the tree. Nine o'clock strikes, on a clock consisting of an owl which flaps its wings at each stroke. The children burst into the room with some friends, and all join in a lively march round the room, before breaking into a galop. Then the other children's parents enter, dressed as fops and dandies. A general dance follows, which is interrupted by the arrival of Councillor Drosselmeyer, who is Clara's godfather. The children are alarmed at his odd appearance, until they see that he has brought them toys: a mechanical doll, a toy soldier, Harlequin and Colombine. He produces these from a large cabbage and from a large pie, much to the children's delight. Silberhaus orders the more expensive toys to be moved to his study, but Clara and Fritz want to play with them. Clara bursts into tears. To console them, Drosselmeyer gives them a huge Nutcracker in the form of a soldier, which enchants Clara.

Fritz hears the noise of the nuts cracking, and tries to seize the nutcracker. When Clara reluctantly lets him play with it, he tries to crack a nut so big that it is the Nutcracker which breaks. Clara picks up the broken Nutcracker and cradles it in her arms., singing it a lullaby, while the boys tease her. The scene ends with a general Grandfather dance. After everyone has gone to bed Clara comes down to see her Nutcracker, which seems to be giving off a mysterious light. Midnight strikes, and mice appear from every corner. The dolls spring to life, and gingerbread soldiers left over from tea begin to march to and fro. She tries to run away, but her legs will not carry her. The Christmas-tree grows enormously in size. Dolls and soldiers join in battle with the mice, who overwhelm the soldiers. Then the Nutcracker summons his old guard, and fights the King of the Mice. Just as it appears that the Nutcracker is about to be overwhelmed, Clara throws her slipper at the King of the Mice, and kills him. The Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince, and he offers Clara a journey to his kingdom.

The room is transformed into a pine forest (Scene 2), and the night sky clears to reveal a host of stars. Clara and the Prince are guided through the forest by gnomes with torches. Snowflakes fall and they are met by the King and Queen, who join their subjects in a swirling waltz. Act II. In the palace of the Kingdom of Sweets (Confiturenburg), the Sugar Plum fairy appears to welcome the travellers to the delights of her kingdom. Beside a river of rose water, Clara and the Prince appear and are welcomed in the Great Hall of the palace. The Prince is greeted by his sisters, and tells how Clara saved his life. She is thanked profusely. The company settle dawn to a splendid banquet and divertissement. Dances from Spain, Arabia, China and Russia are followed by a shepherds' pastoral dance, using toy flutes. Then the old-woman-who-lived-in-a-shoe dances with all her children and a group of clowns. A waltz for the Sugar-Plum Fairy's attendants, is followed by a Pas de deux for the Prince and the Sugar-Plum fairy.

The entire court joins in the final waltz, and the curtain falls on a final tribute to Clara [8] . Composition The ballet was commissioned by the Director of the Russian Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky , who held preliminary talks with the composer in November and December 1890 [9] . On 22 January/3 February 1891, Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother Anatoly : "At the end of the week I shall be going to Saint Petersburg for final discussions with the director about the opera [ Iolanta ] and the ballet" [10] . Tchaikovsky stayed in Saint Petersburg until 11/23 February, where, evidently, he received the choreographer Marius Petipa 's manuscript plan of the first act of the ballet, which was dated "5 February 1891" [O.S.] [11] . According to Modest Tchaikovsky , the composer was "very little pleased by the subject of The Nutcracker" [12] , more precisely with the nature of the ballet's scenario, since E. T. A.

Hoffmann 's fairy tale, upon which it was based, had long ranked high in the composer's estimation, and was the reason for his agreeing to write the ballet The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky's unfavourable attitude to the using The Nutcracker for a ballet scenario is reflected in a letter from Ivan Vsevolozhsky to Tchaikovsky of 9/21 August 1891: "I have experienced agonies of remorse for asking you to do this ballet. I know that it is unappealing to you. You are an exceptionally kind soul for not refusing me" [13] . It is not possible to establish the exact date on which work on the sketches was begun. By 12/24 February the composer had not begun work [14] , but by 18 February/2 March some scenes had been composed—No. 1 (the decoration of the tree) and No. 2 (march—entrance of the children), after which came a number of characteristic dances: Chinese and Spanish dances, a tarantella, an English dance, and the start of a Trepak.

On 18 February/2 March, Tchaikovsky went again to Saint Petersburg . Before his departure he a received a letter written by Ivan Vsevolozhsky , dated 15/27 February: "I hope to see you in Saint Petersburg before your departure for America. I want to pass on to you some ideas for the ballet, which do not fit in with Petipa 's scheme. He is what the French call vieu jeu [15] . All the solos and variations he devised for the first act, would be of little interest to the public. You need now only to compose great dances, and not for dancers, and all those variations... would only irritate the majority of the audience" [16] . Returning to Frolovskoye on 22 February/6 March, Tchaikovsky made notes in his sketchbook after the start of the Trepak: "Not finished, because during a visit to Saint Petersburg I learned that Vsevolozhsky did not want dances here and, probably, they will be carried over to the 2nd act".

The arrangement of the sketches allows us to infer the order in which the music was written—the composer adhered to the essence Marius Petipa 's plan, indicating any deviations from it in his notebook. After meeting with Vsevolozhsky , Tchaikovsky crossed out the names of the characteristic dances in Petipa 's balletmaster plan, and instead wrote: "Galop pour les enfants et entrée des parents en incroyables... 16 mesures rococo (tempo menuet). Bon voyage, M. Dumolet", the latter being the title of a humorous 18th century French song, subsequently used in the music for this number. But the composer did not write the music for this scene straight away, noting down only a few sketches eventually used for the gallop, beside the note: "This is the start of the coda, composed during a stroll in Piter [Petersburg]". Next he continued with Petipa 's plan and on 22 February/6 March set about the music for Drosselmeyer's entrance.

The author's sketch book includes two dates—23 February/7 March and 27 February/11 March—which allows us to establish that on these days he finished the scene with Drosselmeyer, and wrote the scene with the children and the Nutcracker (No. 5), except for the Grossvater [17] . Omitting the Grossvater, Tchaikovsky wrote in his sketch book: "Talk to Petipa regarding the Grossvater, how many times it should be repeated, and whether it should be varied, and have Jurgenson obtain the [musical] notes". There is a second note, apparently made later: "Grossvater — see the end of the copybook after everything else". Beside one of the sketches for No. 5 (the scene described as "Lullaby, twice interrupted by the noise of Fritz and his friends on drums and pipes"), Tchaikovsky noted: "Le vacarme" [18] "... (child's trumpet), cuckoo (sol, mi), rattle, drums, cymbals as in Haydn 's symphony (or three of these, depending on whatever children's instruments will be available)".

On 19 February/3 March, Tchaikovsky wrote from Saint Petersburg to Pyotr Jurgenson : "I require children's instruments (from the symphonies of Haydn and Romberg), because I want to make use of them in my forthcoming ballet. Send them, if you please, to Frolovskoye without delay. And also send notes, explaining how the children's instruments should be played" [19] . On 23 February/7 March, Jurgenson responded: "I am sending you a box of instruments by train" [20] . On 25 February/9 March, the composer wrote to Modest Tchaikovsky : "I am working with all my strength and reconciling myself to the subject of the ballet. I think that by the time I leave a considerable part of the first act will have been done" [21] . On 27 February/11 March, after sketching the night scene (Clara's vision), Tchaikovsky wrote: "Here I am leaving out a lot, up to the Waltz of the Snowflakes".

Indeed, he omitted the battle scene between the mice and toys, and start of the second scene of Act I—depicting the forest at night—and instead the composer went on to the Waltz of the Snowflakes. After this he wrote: "Return to No. 22" (on Marius Petipa 's plan No. 22 was the start of the battle scene), and sketches for the battle of the mice and toys followed. This concluded Tchaikovsky's work on the ballet before his departure abroad on 6/18 March. On the day of his departure from Saint Petersburg , the composer discussed the ballet with Marius Petipa [22] . It seems that at this meeting the outline scenario for Act II was finalised. In any case, the balletmaster's plan of this act was sent to Tchaikovsky only while he was abroad. On the copy of the manuscript of the plan is Petipa 's note: "This was sent on 9 March 1891 [O.S.] to Mr. P. Tchaikovsky in Paris " [23] . Work on the ballet continued during his journey: "I will try to work on the boat.

Even on the way here I composed a little of the ballet", Tchaikovsky wrote from Berlin on 8/20 March 1891 [24] . It has not been established whether Tchaikovsky composed anything on his way to Berlin . In Paris , where Tchaikovsky arrived on 10/22 March, work on the ballet did not come easily. On 15/27 March, he wrote to Vladimir Davydov : "I shall leave Paris on 6th April/25 March, I still don't know where to, in order to work on the ballet" [25] , and on 30 March/11 April he reported to Praskovya Tchaikovskaya from Rouen : "I came here yesterday for a few days' rest and solitude from Parisian life" [26] . Evidently, in Rouen Tchaikovsky resumed work on 31 March/12 April. This date, together with the note " Rouen " was made by the composer on the inside front cover of his notebook, which on its first pages contains sketches for the opening of the second scene of Act I [27] .

The date " Rouen , 12 April" was also written by Tchaikovsky on the choreographer's manuscript plan of Act II. Tchaikovsky stayed in Rouen until 5/17 April. During this time he wrote the opening of the second scene, and the numbers he had previously omitted from the first scene of Act 1: Petit galop des enfants, Entrée des parents, "Bon voyage, M-r Dumolet"; then there followed sketches for the Grossvater dance and some additions to the dance of the Incroyables [28] . On 3/15 April, Tchaikovsky wrote from Rouen to Ivan Vsevolozhsky : "As I expected, during my three weeks in Paris, it goes without saying that I could not write a single note. I came to Rouen in order to work a little. And I have been here nearly a week, working all hours; two days remain before I sail for America. In this time I will have prepared the sketches for the first two scenes of the ballet. But the question is, when will I be able to do the rest?".

Tchaikovsky then asked Vsevolozhsky whether the productions of the ballet and opera could be postponed until the next season: "I could complete my voyage to America without the torments, the doubts, and the fears; return home calm and rested from any conceivable traumas experienced in Paris and America, and enjoy working little by little, confident that I will be writing two masterpieces (pardon my immodesty)" [29] . On the same day, Tchaikovsky wrote of this to his brother Modest [30] . The next day, in a deep depression caused by the unexpected news of his sister Aleksandra 's death, he wrote: "Even more than yesterday and the day before, I feel absolutely incapable of depicting Confitüremburg in music" [31] . On 20 April/2 May the composer wrote from New York to Eduard Nápravník : "I cannot start working again before June at the earliest... otherwise whatever I tried to write would turn out wretchedly" [32] .

Ivan Vsevolozhsky agreed to postpone the ballet and the opera, and further work on the ballet was only resumed after Tchaikovsky's return from America, in Maydanovo at the end of May 1891. "On 9th May [O.S.] I floated away from America... on 20th May [O.S.] I arrived in Petersburg , and this morning here. Now I have started to work" [33] . On 3/15 June 1891, the composer told Pyotr Jurgenson that he was writing Act II of the ballet; he also asked him to send to Paris for a new orchestral instrument ("Celesta-Mustel"), "with a divinely unusual sound", which he wanted to use in the symphonic ballad The Voyevoda and in the ballet [34] . Letters to various correspondents during June refer to work on the ballet. On 2/14 June the composer wrote to Anna Merkling : "At this moment my work is coming along very successfully" [35] .

On the same day he wrote to Praskovya Tchaikovskaya : "Work is proceeding intensively, and I'm glad that my travels are over" [36] . On 17/29 June, Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother Modest : "It is also good for me here, but work isn't going as quickly now as at first. There are unexpected distractions" [37] . On 25 June/7 July in a letter to Vladimir Davydov , Tchaikovsky wrote: "Remember when you were here I boasted that I had something like five days left to finish the ballet? It turned out that I only just managed it in 2 weeks. No! The old man is evidently declining. Not only is his hair thinning and turning silver as snow, not only are his teeth falling out and refusing to chew food, not only are his eyes weakening and becoming easily tired, not only are his feet starting to drag rather than walk—but his singular remaining faculty is starting to fade and disappear. The ballet is infinitely worse that " The Sleeping Beauty "—of this I'm sure. Let's see how the opera will turn out" [38] .

On the same day, the composer told Modest Tchaikovsky and Aleksandra Hubert that he had finished the sketches, complaining that he was greatly tired, and "it seems the old man starting to take his last breaths" [39] . In a letter to Sergey Taneyev of 27 June/9 July 1891, Tchaikovsky also reported that he had finished the ballet "with a feverish haste and the constant doubts that I would muster the energy to finish the ballet in rough" [40] . The sequence of sketches in Act II indicates that the composer adhered to Marius Petipa 's plan. In the divertissement, Tchaikovsky used dances that were originally written for Act I. And so, where the plan called for "Dances", under the title Le chocolat, Tchaikovsky noted: "Spanish dance, see 1st copybook"; the same applied for the dance Tea — "See 1st copybook" (the Chinese dance was used). Near to sketches for the dance Polichinella, Tchaikovsky wrote: "No. 3—Giroflé-Giroflá, popular French song", i.e.

here he employed an authentic folk song [41] . In the Pas de deux, Tchaikovsky omitted the male variation, and on a blank page he wrote: "Transfer from the 1st act (formerly the tarantella) but ½ tone lower", and wrote out the first two bars. After finishing the sketches of the ballet, Tchaikovsky left to spend some days in Saint Petersburg , and on his return he began to compose the opera Iolanta , and also to correct the full score of the opera Yevgeny Onegin . It was considerably later that Tchaikovsky set about the instrumentation of the ballet, in January 1892, after he had already orchestrated the opera. He began by orchestrating the few numbers which were to be performed as a Suite from the ballet. In a letter to Pyotr Jurgenson of 25 January/6 February 1892 from Saint Petersburg , the composer reported: "I want to catch up with orchestrating some numbers from the new ballet, which I've promised will be played at a local Musical Society concert on 29 February" [O.S.] [42] .

On 28 January/9 February he wrote to Pyotr Jurgenson : "I'm starting with the orchestration of those numbers from the ballet which will go into the suite, and will then do the rest. I think it will be finished by the summer" [43] . The date at the start of the fair copy of the Suite reads: "8 Feb. 1892 [O.S.] , Maydanovo ". On 17/29 March, Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother Modest : "My work is in full swing, and soon only the final markings will remain, and I hope to completely finish the score by Passion Week" [44] . On 23 March/4 April the instrumentation was completed, according to the date on the manuscript score. On 25 March/6 April he wrote to Jurgenson : "I've finished the ballet; all that remains is to insert the markings and put it in order" [45] . Arrangements The Nutcracker was arranged for piano by Sergey Taneyev , but in view of the difficulty of this arrangement, Tchaikovsky made a simplified one of his own.

This work was carried out at the end of August 1892 [46] . Suite See The Nutcracker (suite) . Performances The premiere of the ballet, with the opera Iolanta , took place on 6/18 December 1892 in Saint Petersburg , at the Mariinsky Theatre, conducted by Riccardo Drigo, and produced by the balletmaster Lev Ivanov . The principal performers were: Stanislava Belinskaya (Clara), Sergey Legat (Nutcracker), Timofey Stukolkin (Drosselmeyer), Feliks Kshesinsky (Silberhaus), Augusta Ogoleit (Frau Silberhaus), Vasily Stukolkin (Fritz), Antonietta Dell'Era (Sugar-Plum Fairy) and Pavel Gerdt (Nutcracker). According to the composer the audience was unenthusiastic: "The Nutcracker was staged quite well: it was lavishly produced and everything went off perfectly, but nevertheless, it seemed to me that the public did not like it.

They were bored" [47] In Moscow the first production of The Nutcracker did not take place until 21 May 1919, in a production at the Bolshoi Theatre by the balletmaster Aleksandr Gorsky, conducted by Nikolay Fyodorov. The principal soloists were Valentina Kudryavtseva (Clara), Yefim Yefimov (Nutcracker) and Aleksey Bulgakov (Drosselmeyer). The first complete performance outside Russia took place in London was on 30 January 1934, at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, staged by Nicholas Sergeyev. An abridged version was staged at the 51st Street Theater in New York on 17 October 1940 by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, choreographed by Alexandra Fedorova. William Christensen's production with the San Francisco Ballet on 24 December 1944 was the first complete performance in the United States.

Publication Tchaikovsky was occupied from 15/27 July until late August/early September 1892 with proof-reading the score of the ballet, being published by Pyotr Jurgenson , while at the same time preparing the opera Iolanta for publication [48] . The full score was published by Pyotr Jurgenson in 1892. The piano arrangements by Sergey Taneyev and the author were also brought out in 1892 by the same publisher. The full score and the composer's simplified piano arrangement of The Nutcracker were published in volumes 13 (1955) and 54 (1954) respectively of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works , edited by V. D. Vasilyev. Autographs Tchaikovsky's manuscript score is now preserved in the Glinka National Museum Consortium of Musical Culture in Moscow (ф. 88, No. 51), except for the numbers used in the suite , which have been extracted from the score [49] . The same archive holds Tchaikovsky's arrangement for solo piano (ф. 88, No. 52).

Recordings The Nutcracker (ballet) at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) Notes and References ↑ In the manuscript score and autograph sketches the title of the ballet is given as The Fir-Tree (Ёлка) and The Christmas Tree (Роэжественская ëлка). ↑ The title in the sketches is listed variuosly as The Clown (Паяц), Clown's Dance (Танец паяцев), and 'Russian Trepak (Руский трепак). ↑ According to the sketches this number was originally to have been called Dances with Reed Pipes (Танец со свирелами) or Fruit Drops (Леденцы). ↑ Entitled Gingerbread (Пряник) in the composer's sketches. ↑ Styled Italian Dance (Итальянский танец) or Tarantella in the sketches. ↑ In a letter of 9/21 September 1894, Modest Tchaikovsky told Herman Laroche that "I wrote out the story of The Nutcrackerto words by Vsevolozhsky " — Klin House-Museum Archive.

See also Letter 4050 to Désirée Artôt-Padilla , 25 February/9 March 1890. ↑ In Letter 4634 to Pyotr Jurgenson , 6/18 March 1892, Tchaikovsky had suggested the wording "Story from the fairy-tale by Hoffmann and Dumas senior" for the title page of the ballet. However, Pyotr Jurgenson replied on 13/25 March 1892 that this could create copyright difficulties with the heirs of the estate of Alexandre Dumas . In Letter 4643 to Jurgenson , 14/26 March 1892, the composer concurred: "Certainly, don't mention Dumas". Tchaikovsky: ``Nutcracker'' Suite Tchaikovsky: ``Nutcracker'' Suite Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1840-1893. Suite from the ballet The Nutcracker, Op. 71a. Completed 1892, first performance March 19, in St. Petersburg.

Scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, glockenspiel, tympani, harp, celesta, and strings. It may come as a surprise to many to learn that Pyotr (Peter) Tchaikovsky, one of the best-loved composers of all time, began his adult life in one of the least glamorous occupations known to man: government clerk. History has not recorded his exact assignments, however, for the man was so indifferent to his job that he later forgot exactly what it was that he had done! The young official had continued his youthful interest in music, but declared at the age of 21 that ``even if I actually had any talent, it can hardly be developed now.'' It is indeed fortunate for posterity that he turned out to be wrong!

Only a year after he wrote these words, he became disillusioned by an ``unjust'' promotion over his head and entered the new Conservatory of the Russian Society of Music. Some thirty years later, in December of 1891, the now-successful composer's new opera Pique Dame ( The Queen of Spades) so impressed the Imperial Opera Directorate that he was promptly given a commission to write both a one-act opera and a ballet for the following season. The ballet was to be based on E.T.A. Hoffman's story ``The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,'' a selection which Tchaikovsky disliked (the subject had been forced upon him). Nevertheless, he began work in early 1892 before departing on a successful tour of the United States, and completed the music later that summer, though he disparaged it as ``infinitely poorer than The Sleeping Beauty,'' a verdict with which subsequent ballet-goers have most emphatically and consistently disagreed. An interesting footnote to the score of The Nutcracker is the famous use of the celesta in the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy.

Tchaikovsky had discovered the newly-invented instrument just before departing for the U.S., and was immediately captivated by its ``divinely beautiful tone.'' He arranged to have one sent to Russia secretly, because he was ``afraid Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov may get hold of it and use the unusual effect before me.'' He needn't have worried, though, for although many other composers have written for Auguste Mustel's uniquely beautiful creation, none has been able to duplicate the magic achieved by this most passionate of all composers in his most popular work. © 1995, Geoff Kuenning

Question: What Christmas ballet was written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky?
Answer: The Nutcracker