Nutcracker Suite
selection of 8 musical numbers Tchaikovsky made from The Nutcracker ballet
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a is a selection of 8 musical numbers Tchaikovsky made from The Nutcracker ballet for a concert performance before the St. Petersburg branch of the Musical Society on March 19, 1892.[1] Every number was acclaimed and repeated, and the suite became an instant hit.[2] The complete ballet was first performed on December 17, 1892. It was not a success. It did not gain any popularity until George Balanchine staged a production in New York City.[3] The suite however was very popular in concert. It was featured in Disney's Fantasia. The Nutcracker Suite should not be mistaken for the complete ballet.
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Portr%C3%A4t_des_Komponisten_Pjotr_I._Tschaikowski_%281840-1893%29.jpg/220px-Portr%C3%A4t_des_Komponisten_Pjotr_I._Tschaikowski_%281840-1893%29.jpg)
The numbers chosen by Tchaikovsky for The Nutcracker Suite and their sequence within the suite are as follows:
- I. Miniature Overture
- II. Danses caractéristiques
- a. Marche
- b. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy [ending altered from ballet-version]
- c. Russian Dance (Trepak)
- d. Arabian Dance
- e. Chinese Dance
- f. Reed-Flutes
- III. Waltz of the Flowers
References
change- ↑ Alexander Poznansky, Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man, p. 544
- ↑ "Full text of "Men Of Music Their Lives Times And Achievements"". Archive.org. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ↑ "The Nutcracker Profile: The History of The Nutcracker". Classicalmusic.about.com. 11 June 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.