Pas de Deux from The Nutcracker Suite, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arranged Konstantinos Konstantinou '22 and Jessica Pan '21.

“Pas de Deux” is a French ballet term literally meaning “the passage of the two”; it denotes the moment toward the end of “The Nutcracker” ballet suite where the two protagonists dance together, showing off their terpsichorean passion and virtuosity. Tchaikovsky’s “Pas de Deux” adorns this dramatic moment with lyricism, nostalgia, and pathos through his mastery of melody.

It is rumored that Tchaikovsky’s friend wagered that he could not write a melody based on the 8 notes of a scale in sequence. But this “melodic genius” – as praised by Leonard Bernstein – succeeded in doing so by skillfully employing ternary musical structure, imaginative modulations, and the richness of orchestral colors. Hence, “Pas de Deux” is Tchaikovsky’s masterful transformation of a simple 8-note scale into a melody capable of mirroring the fundamentally human concepts of melancholy, beauty, and love.

Spellbound, August 27 - September 4 2020
Performed by Sean Lee '22, Guo Yu (GS), and string quartet:
Violin I: Allen Liu
Violin II: Daniel Knapp
Cello: Caleb Kim
Viola: Katie Liu

As pioneers in the art of collaborative piano, we challenge the notion that piano is only a solo instrument and push the traditional boundaries of how the instrument is performed. Four hands on one piano, ten hands on five pianos, and everything in between - we’ve done it or we’ll do it. Our mission is nothing less than to make beautiful music accessible to all and to spread it around Princeton and the world.

www.princetonpianists.com

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