Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. When the young Claras eccentric godfather, Drosselmeyer, drops in bearing gifts, it is clear this will be a Christmas like no other. Snowflakes fall and they are met by the King and Queen, who join their subjects in a swirling waltz. Now I have started to work" [34]. The Nutcracker Ballet Music & Summary - Study.com On 18 February/2 March, Tchaikovsky went again to Saint Petersburg. The instrumentation features a tambourine with the strings and woodwinds that enlivens the rhythm and orchestral sound. The "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is one of the final dances of the ballet. There is coffee from Arabia, tea from China, candy canes from Russia, and chocolate from Spain. Though everyone is familiar with the "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies," less are certain why those sugarplum fairies are dancing in the first place. The Story Behind Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker Suite' - uDiscover Music While they have been around for ages, the wooden dolls only became popular in the US in the 1950s. Clara and Fritz are put to bed. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. At such moments Uncle Pyotr, red in the face, wet with perspiration as he sang the tune, presented a pretty amusing sight.. The first complete performance outside Russia took place in Prague at the National Theatre (Nrodn divadlo) on 4/17 August 1908, conducted by Rudolf Zamrzla, where the ballet was staged a total of 24 times over the next two years [49]. Ravel Piano Concerto in G, I.Allegramente, 14. So might the alleged shortcomings of Tchaikovskys music in Nutcracker have been, in fact, deliberate ploys rather than shortcomings? 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" [46]. It may also explain why The Nutcracker, though a full-length ballet, is barely more than half the length of either its predecessors, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty: in other words, an ideal length not to tax an audience of young children. 1 (the decoration of the tree) and No. 71a 7. Now in charge of the Mariinsky Theatre and eager to raise its standards, Vsevolozhsky soon proved an able administrator with a genius for devising ballets. The ballet proper debuted in December of that year. Adagio, 1. Clara and the nutcracker are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy, who throws a party in their honor with music and, of course, dancing. After finding it, Clara falls asleep with the nutcracker in her arms and begins a long, mystical dream. Layer 2: Melody simplified to quarter notes in the woodwinds. Create your account. The nutcracker acquired its iconic status through a globalized transmission of popular culture. The celestas (below) advantage over the glockenspiel was its ability to create through its keyboard the effect of a splashing fountain, as required by Petipa to accompany the Sugar-Plum Fairy. I want to pass on to you some ideas for the ballet, which do not fit in with Petipa's scheme. Tchaikovsky was one composer who you could say was really good at painting with sound creating all sorts colors, textures, moods, and landscapes. This concluded Tchaikovsky's work on the ballet before his departure abroad on 6/18 March. Functions [ edit] Using a Nutcracker The last A section closely resembles the opening, but louder with the brass, and also you hear the strings doing this wild flying scale thing. Left and center are more recent models, depicting a Swiss knight and an American soldier. Selections from The Nutcracker were first performed as an orchestral suite in March 1892. 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 Nutcrackers fairy-tale ambience. 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 tone lower", and wrote out the first two bars. The Nutcracker opened in Saint Petersburg Russia in 1892. Waltz of the Flowers. 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. When Clara reluctantly lets him play with it, he tries to crack a nut so big that it is the Nutcracker which breaks. Notes by Katherine Baber. The right picture features a model dating back to ca. After a final waltz between the fairy and her cavalier, Clara awakes to find herself by the Christmas tree with her nutcracker. Another orchestral colour unfamiliar to Tchaikovskys audience was the purring of flutter-tongued flutes, a technique he had recently learned from a flautist who had once been his harmony student: he used this sound to depict the cascading river of Rose essence which greets the arrival of Clara and her Nutcracker prince in Act II. Like Handel's Messiah, it has long enjoyed a place of de facto holiday tradition throughout the Western world. The titles of numbers in French (italic type) and Russian (Cyrillic) are taken from the published score, with English translations added in bold type. The celesta is a bell-piano that sits upright and is played with keys. 71a, 5. 2 (marchentrance of the children), after which came a number of characteristic dances: Chinese and Spanish dances, a tarantella, an English dance ("Gigue") [15], and the start of a Trepak. Today it's one of the most popular ballets in the world, and many ballet companies perform it every holiday season. Keeping watch over the Land of Sweets in the Nutcracker's absence was the Sugar Plum Fairy. On the same day, Tchaikovsky wrote of this to his brother Modest [31]. If Nutcracker was originally intended, in a very real sense, as a ballet for children, this would explain its relatively simple yet brightly coloured themes, and why nearly all the dances, most particularly those in Act I originally intended for child dancers, are relatively short. Russian Dance (Trepak). In this fairy tale, toys come to life and battle an army of mice. There they witness many wonderful dances from all over the world, highlighted by the sugar plum fairy herself dancing with a regal cavalier. In contrast, the Waltz of the Flowers is the final dance of . The origin of the Nutcracker, a classic Christmas Story, is a fairy tale ballet in two acts centered on a family's Christmas Eve celebration. Tchaikovsky's score, however, was met with more enthusiasm. 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. It seems that at this meeting the outline scenario for Act II was finalised. But their gauntlet was triumphantly taken up in the 20th century, particularly in the US, with its love of child-friendly fantasies such as The Wizard of Oz, and in Soviet Russia where investment in young talent resulted, and still continues, in producing many fine child dancers. But the question is, when will I be able to do the rest?". Hoffmann's book: "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". Said less technically, a waltz also has a kind of spin to it that other dances dont have (in contrast, the dance of the reed flutes is metered in a slower 1-2-1-2). 71a. This cheerful ornament inspired by the classic holiday story features the Nutcracker's face complete with mustache, while his tall red soldier's hat features delicate gold embroidery for that classic Christmas feel you love. 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. The Nutcracker returns and suddenly turns into a Prince, who looks just like Drosselmeyer's nephew. A one-time diplomat, Vsevolozhsky had developed his love for French culture (shared by Tchaikovsky) and particularly ballet while posted in Paris. Yet The Nutcracker has become the most beloved of all ballets, a regular Christmas production on almost every major stage, especially in the United States where it has become as much a part of American tradition as the German Christmas tree. The newspapers reviled Tchaikovsky, and he did not live to see the piece succeed. We are instantly drawn into the world of The Nutcracker with Tchaikovsky's Miniature Overture. The Nutcracker Suite, Op. Trepak (Russian: ; Ukrainian: o, i) is one of the character dances from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's famous 1892 ballet The Nutcracker.It is based on the traditional Russian and Ukrainian folk dance also called the trepak. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. The Land of the Sweets is the Prince's home, where he rules from the Marzipan Palace. Mozart Piano Concerto No. The company settle dawn to a splendid banquet and divertissement. The Nutcracker () [1], Op. The Napoleon figure (center) is from 1822. Beethoven Piano Sonata No. Because the first act is set at a Christmas party, the ballet is often presented at Christmastime. 71a 4. Hoffmann. Silberhaus orders the more expensive toys to be moved to his study, but Clara and Fritz want to play with them. So, the next time December comes around, listen and you may hear the sounds of the Nutcracker!. Led by the nutcracker, they battle the mice. Many of Tchaikovskys works are among the most widely-recognized pieces in all of classical music. Musically speaking, a waltz is a dance that is in 3-beat meter, to which you can count a quick 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3. This was Tchaikovsky's last ballet, from which he compiled a famous Suite of eight numbers for concert performance. It has not been established whether Tchaikovsky composed anything on his way to Berlin. Many people this holiday season will experience the joy of attending a local performance of "The Nutcracker" ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. No sooner had the ink dried than he received news that his beloved sister, Sasha, had died. One of ballets unsung heroes, Vsevolozhsky not only nurtured Tchaikovskys talent for the form, inspiring him to compose Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, but he also raised ballet to a high art-form. The tool is designed to crack open all sorts of nuts, and usually resembles a pair of pliers. He brings with him several gifts including a toy train and toy soldiers for Clara and her brother, Fritz. First performance: 19 March 1892, St. Petersburg, Russia. Daniel Jaff tells the tale of a magical masterpiece. 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. Peter Tchaikovsky, conductor. Beethoven Symphony No. It was presented at St. Petersburgs Mariinsky Theatre on a double bill with Tchaikovskys one-act opera, Iolanta. But Tchaikovsky, according to the somewhat unreliable memoirs of his brother, Modest, was not much pleased with the subject. The Nutcracker, Russian Shchelkunchik, ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. (LogOut/ Some critics found the choreography chaotic and the performances inconsistent. She is thanked profusely. The piece is also referred to as the Russian dance and is part of the . to Mr. P. Tchaikovsky in Paris" [24]. The German author E.T.A. Adagioassai, 15. Presto, 16. As a result, Tchaikovsky, who had already written music for other ballets including Swan Lake, composed a series of movements musically illustrating different parts of the story. Inspired by Heinrich Hoffman's version of the story, an Ore Mountain carver named Friedrich Wilhelm Fchtner created the iconic traditional nutcracker model by 1870 that later went into serial production which is why he became known as the "father of the nutcracker." The ballet is scored for a large orchestra consisting of 3 flutes (2nd and 3rd doubling piccolos), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (in A, B-flat), bass clarinet (in A, B-flat), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in A, B-flat), 3 trombones, tuba + 4 timpani, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum, tam tam, glockenspiel, castanets, toy instruments (rattle, trumpets (in C), drums, 2 rabbit drummers, cuckoos, quails, cymbals) + celesta (or piano) + 2 harps, violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses. There are many traditional nutcracker producers in the Ore Mountain region, which makes up the natural borderland between Germany and the Czech Republic. She serves on the music faculty of Metropolitan State University of Denver and gives pre-performance talks for Opera Colorado and the Colorado Symphony Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Letters to various correspondents during June refer to work on the ballet. Tchaikovsky probably wouldn't have believed that his ballet would one day become an international success, and sadly he did not live long enough to find out. The Russian musicologist Boris Asafyev acclaimed Nutcracker as representing 'the ripening soul of a little girl' who grows from playing with dolls to 'the dawn of love through dreams of love of a brave and virile hero', while Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, found the music 'bristling with implied action,' with 'a subtext 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 Nuknacker und Mauseknig (1816) by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) [7]. And the fact is that Tchaikovsky, once past his initial creative crisis, described Nutcracker in a letter to Modest as excellent, while Yolanta, the opera on which he had had high expectations, was in his estimation nothing special. He was drawn to Hoffmanns The Nutcracker, as re-written by Alexandre Dumas senior, which was enjoying popularity in Russia. In the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy (No. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Clara falls onto what had been the toy nutcracker's bed, overwhelmed by the moment. Tap genius Michelle Dorrance puts her stamp on the famous Christmas ballet---There is a cornucopia of Nutcrackers twirling all over New York this holiday season, but none as exuberant as Michelle Dorrance's tap-dancing take on the Christmas staple. Tchaikovsky had used the glockenspiel in his still little-known Orchestral Suite No. The second time around, the lower strings (cello and bass) continue the accompaniment, while the upper strings, violins and violas, do some interplay stuff with the flutes. This effect has Tchaikovskys fingerprints all over it, I think. The date at the start of the fair copy of the Suite reads: "8 Feb. 1892 [O.S. Yet responsibility for the failure was not, apparently, wholly the composers. I think it will be finished by the summer" [44]. On 20 April/2 May, the composer wrote from New York to Eduard Npravnk: "I cannot start working again before June at the earliest otherwise whatever I tried to write would turn out wretchedly" [33]. He composed during the Romantic Period and is best known for his composition of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. He produces these from a large cabbage and from a large pie, much to the children's delight. The result, by all accounts, was too ill-disciplined to charm its audience. Act II. Clara bursts into tears. 17 and Nos. 7. Tchaikovsky - "The Nutcracker" Suite, Op. 71a | asiyclassical ", Create an account to start this course today. On 2/14 June the composer wrote to Anna Merkling: "At this moment my work is coming along very successfully" [36]. Evidently, in Rouen Tchaikovsky resumed work on 31 March/12 April. Are we floating? The Nutcracker - Presented by Texture Ballet School 71a 8. If youre wondering, that instrument is a celesta a relative of a piano where the hammers, instead of hitting strings, hit metal plates, like a metal xylophone. Russian Musical Society. And then just enjoy the huge ending. Trepak is one dance from a set of dances found in Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, a ballet from 1892. Such was his enthusiasm that, not long after graduating from the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1866, he created a short ballet to entertain his young nieces called The Lake of Swans. 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. The story of The Nutcracker is loosely based on the E.T.A. Here's the story in a nutshell (all puns intended!). Of form, this movement is also in an easy-to-follow ABA structure listen for the changes in roles as the piece progresses. 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. The original story was more dark and disturbing, with choreographer Marius Petipa deciding to take a lighter approach to Clara's Christmastime dream when adapting it for the stage. I think that by the time I leave a considerable part of the first act will have been done" [22]. Listen for the very rhythmic, punctuated, maybe angular feel of the main A theme. Beethoven Wrap-up and furtherlistening, 12. MUS 110 Ch 42 Listening Study Guide: LG 31 Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Are we underwater? What Is a Nutcracker? A Short History - LiveAbout After seeing Adams Giselle he became a ballet devotee. Starting with Sleeping Beauty (1890), he created productions in which music, choreography and design (he himself designing many hundreds of splendid costumes) were united into a single concept, rather than, as had previously been the case, haphazardly thrown together. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker has enchanted audiences around the world for over a century, but what is the secret to its enduring popularity? Relieved of this immediate burden, Tchaikovsky fulfilled his tour (obliged by having already spent a good part of a generous advance).
