Cindy

=__Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite- 1 'Prelude'__=

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Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Performers/group name: Volker Hartung & Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra Musical time period: Romantic Conductor: Volker Hartung

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8. 'Flower waltz' __Information __

One of Tchaikovsky’s most famous compositions is The Nutcracker due to its simplicity, strong and majestic movements. What makes this an enticing piece is the contrasting melodies in each song, giving it a more fragile feel. It was played with different emotions, texture and dynamics to create a story like environment to suit the plot of The Nutcracker story, which this composition is well known for.

This lovely composition was made based on “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King “story written in 1816 by E.T.A Hoffmann. In this story, a young girl named Marie Stahlbaum’s favourite Christmas toy, the nutcracker, comes alive and defeats the evil Mouse King in battle who then whisks her to a magical kingdom full of dolls. The story leads to Pyotr’s wonderful creation of the ballet “The Nutcracker” which became the best ballet in the world.

__Biography __

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A man who was born with a phenomenal musical talent was brought into our lives on May 7, 1840. His name was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, English name, Peter. For someone who had obvious musical precocity, he was educated for a career as a civil servant. Like some of the other musical prodigies, Peter rebelled against his family wishes and pursued with his interest in music. In 1862, he began studying at the new St.Petersburg conservatory, graduated in 1865 and became a professor of theory and harmony at the Moscow Conservatory.=====

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He was devoted to his mother Alexandra Andreyevna, who suffered from a case of cholera; an infection of the small intestine. Unfortunately, Alexandra’s infection became severe which caused her to leave Peter’s life when he was only fourteen. Her death made a big impact on Peter’s life.=====

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On July 18, 1877, he married a beautiful woman named Antonina Milyukova, a former student of his. Unfortunately, the marriage did not turn out well. Peter attempted suicide two weeks after the wedding and fled to St.Petersburg, separating from his wife after only 6 weeks of marriage.A secret was kept from the world until he got married. His marriage concealed the message of his homosexuality.=====

__Analysis __

//Each movement in the suite represents a scene in the Nutcracker Ballet. //

The first movement in the Nutcracker Suite, the prelude, starts off grazioso and maestoso. It creates visions of prancing or excitement which relates to the “party scene” in the story. The majestic movements and sounds are representations of the children in the story dancing and playing as they welcome their friends to the party. As the song slowly crescendos into a chromatic scale, the atmosphere changes to a more furious, rush liked scene. This is when the amount of guests increases and the party begins with festive music and dancing. As the guests are settled, the melody goes back to grazioso and maestoso. Throughout the rest of the movement, crescendos and decrescendos are presented along with staccatos giving the piece a dolce feel to suit the dancing scene. Approaching the climax of the scene, the melody becomes prestissimo and forte to emphasize the scene where the nutcracker gets stolen from the girl. To conclude this scene, a crescendo occurs again with tremolos to give it a suspenseful ending.

The second movement in the Nutcracker Suite, March, starts off like the first movement but a bit more broken, the only difference is it being played as a “call and answer”. This relates to the scene where the girl, Clara, starts to shrink. After every answer in the piece, Clara would start to shrink some more. The melody of the horns in this piece relate to the title “March”. In this scene, a shock is given Clara as she witnesses her toys coming to life and room filled with marching mice. As this is happening, the nutcracker that Clara had received comes to life and recruits his fellow soldiers into war with the mice. The dynamics quickly change from majestic to an allegro forte throughout the fight scene. Many fast slurs are played to help emphasize the movements that are going on and whenever the cymbol clashes, it represents a death. This scene ends with a loud pluck from the strings and clash from the cymbols to represent victory as the mice run away.

The third movement in the Nutcracker Suite, Sugarplum Fairy, starts off pianissimo and stays that way until the end. In this scene, the Nutcracker turns into a prince and takes Clara to the Land of Snow, an enchanted forest wonderland where they are welcomed by dancing snowflakes. The beginning is really articulated with the violin plucking as the winds play the melody. With the triangle in the background, it helps create a majestic sound to support the theme of an enchanted forest. The combinations of the sounds in this melody help form an illusion of glitter, fairies and a magical atmosphere.

The fourth movement in the Nutcracker Suite, Trepan, starts off moderato and slowly increases to a forte. There are many dynamics in this piece that create an exciting, suspenseful and content atmosphere. As the piece gradually gets louder, you can hear the sforzandos which helps create more suspense. Again, this piece is played in the fighting scene since.

The seventh movement in the Nutcracker Suite, Reed Flute, starts off mezzo piano but alternates between pianissimo and forte. In this piece, the flutes play the main melody whereas the violins play the background music. Staccatos are played with different dynamics to show the contrasting melodies. Again, with this majestic, ballet dancing sound, the image of a dance is created. This piece is ideal for the party scene where guests are dancing.

The fifth, sixth and eighth movements in the Nutcracker Suite are connected in the Story. In the last scene, the prince escorts Clara to the Land of Sweets where they are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy which they are award with celebration of dances.

In the fifth movement, Arabian Dance, the piece starts off very smooth with many vibratos and trills from the violins creating a romantic environment. The whole movement flows really nicely as the piece stays in a dolce tempo.

In the sixth movement, Chinese Dance, the piece starts off with the winds playing the melody as the violins pluck. Everything is being played a moderate tempo and the sounds create an image of birds or fairies flying around.

In the eighth movement, Flower Waltz, the piece starts off with the harp creating the sound of chimes. The overall theme in this piece is waltz, a very majestic cantabile tempo. The violins with their long bow strokes and slurs help with consistency in the melody. This is one of the many famous movements for ballet, waltz, and ballroom dancing due to its graceful sound. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> // This prelude is well known for its appearance in ballets, plays, and movies. I came across all of these songs at least once while watching Disney movies, Christmas shows or simply wandering around malls during Christmas season. I chose this song not only because it’s well known but because of its magical melody. The transitions in most of these songs are from a major to minor scale, creating these two different contrasting atmospheres that are simply amazing to my ears.//

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">__Other works__

Ballets
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Tchaikovsky is perhaps most well known for his ballets, although it was only in his last years, with his two last ballets, that his contemporaries came to really appreciate his qualities as ballet music composer.
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1875–1876): Swan Lake, Op. 20. Tchaikovsky's first ballet, it was first performed (with some omissions) at the [|Bolshoi Theatre] in Moscow in 1877.
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1888–1889): [|Sleeping Beauty], Op. 66. This work Tchaikovsky considered to be one of his best. Its first performance was in 1890 at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg.
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1891–1892): The Nutcracker, Op. 71. Tchaikovsky himself was less satisfied with this, his last ballet.

Operas
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Tchaikovsky wrote ten operas, including:
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1877–1888): [|Eugene Onegin], Op. 24
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1890): The Queen of Spades, Op. 68

Symphonies
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Tchaikovsky's earlier symphonies are generally happy works of nationalistic character, while the later symphonies dwell on fate, turmoil and, particularly in the Sixth, despair. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">He also wrote four orchestral suites between the 4th and 5th symphonies. He originally intended to call one or more of these 'symphony' but was persuaded to alter the title. The four suites are nonetheless symphonic in character, and often neglected masterpieces of orchestral writing.
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1866): No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13, //Winter Daydreams//
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1872): No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17, //Little Russian//
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1875): No. 3 in D major, Op. 29, //Polish//
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1877–1878): [|No. 4 in F minor], Op. 36
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1885): Manfred Symphony, B minor, Op. 58. Based on Manfred.
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1888): No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1893): No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, //Pathétique//

For orchestra
==== For choir, songs , chamber music , and for solo piano ====
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1876): // Marche Slave //, Op. 31
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1880): // Capriccio Italien //, Op. 45
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1880): // 1812 Overture //, Op. 49
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1881): //Romeo and Juliet// Fantasy Overture, Op. 64
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1871) String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1876) ' Variations on a Rococo theme ' for cello and orchestra, Op. 33. Tchaikovsky believed this to be one of his best works.
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1876) Piano suite // [|The Seasons] //, Op. 37a
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1882) Piano trio in a minor, Op. 50
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1886) // Dumka //, Russian rustic scene in C minor for piano, Op. 59
 * <span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms',arial;">(1890) String sextet // [|Souvenir de Florence] //, Op. 70