Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker, Suite from the ballet, Op. 71a: A collection of eight excerpts from the ballet The Nutcracker by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
In 1890, Tchaikovsky was commissioned by the Imperial Mariinsky Theater to compose a ballet based on E. T. A. Hoffmann's fairy tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
Then, in January 1891, he received a libretto from Marius Petipa, chief choreographer of the Mariinsky Theatre, and began composing in earnest.
On March 30th, after the first draft of the first act, he will go to the US concert, and when he was passing through France, he came across a new instrument, the Celesta, and used it in his piece.
On July 18, the sketch was completed, and in February 1892, he entered the orchestral arrangement and completed the total score on April 18. However, before completion, he was suddenly asked by the Russian Music Association to hold a self-composed concert on March 31, and he performed 8 excerpts from this piece.
The response was enthusiastic, and later these pieces were classified as [The Nutcracker Suite] and became widely loved. The complete ballet premiered on December 18, 1892, but was not a success due to choreographic problems. However, it soon gained popularity and was recognized as a masterpiece.
It consists of 8 pieces in total.
The first piece, ‘Miniature Overture’, is in the form of a sonata with no developmental part, and the string and woodwind instruments describe the cheerful excitement of a child’s heart.
The second piece, “March,” depicts the joyous images of children having a Christmas party.
The third piece, ‘Dance Of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, uses a celesta to make the atmosphere mysterious.
4th piece ‘Russian dance. Trepak (Russian Dance. Trépak)’ is a song in which the Russian folk dance, trepak, is intensely repeated.
The fifth piece, “Arabian Dance,” describes the taste of coffee with an Arabian-style melody that creates a strange atmosphere.
The sixth piece, ‘Chinese Dance’, describes the Chinese tea that the prince recommends to Marie.
The seventh piece, “Reed Flutes,” depicts a female shepherd dancing while blowing a toy flute.
The 8th piece ‘Waltz Of The Flower’ is the most famous among all pieces. It depicts the lady-in-waiting of the Candy Fairy dancing to an elegant waltz melody.
Famous performances by Russian conductors include the 1981 recording with Evgeny Mravinsky and the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and the 1978 recording with Mstislav Rostropovich and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Meanwhile, Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan's two recordings, the 1961 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the 1966 recording with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, are sophisticated and sensuous performances, and the American conductor James Levine and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's 1966 recording. The 1992 recording and the 2008 recording by the British conductor Roger Norrington and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra have also been praised.
