The Nutcracker Analysis

Orchestrally, it is scored for strings, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, two flutes, one piccolo, two oboes, one English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four French horns, two trumpets, three trombones, two harps, and one cimbasso. Musically, this opera is very directly vigorous. It sticks to the widely used concepts of arias, duets, finales, and choruses. His fine music often excused the glaring faults in character and plot lines.

Dance of the Hours composed by Amilcare Ponchielli’s from his opera La Gioconda takes us on a journey through the hours of the day. We will be reviewing three versions of this composition where the ballet through dance and costume, the orchestra through music, and staging or film techniques assist in representing the hours in a day (dawn, morning, twilight and night). These three previously recorded versions in review are in the forms of classical, modern, and Disney’s Fantasia version of the ballet.

This composition consists of three movements of which we will further examine movement II, Adagio Cantabile. This movement is placed in high contrast with the other two, particularly in tempo.

There were a lot of instruments you could hear when you first listened to this piece. The first instruments that I heard right away were the violins, flutes, and oboes. As I kept listening I noticed the clarinets, bassoons, cello, viola, and the French horn. The instruments that seemed like they were the most important in this piece were the violins, because they started the piece and through-out the rest of the piece they were always there being the main part of this piece.

In modern times, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet, The Nutcracker, is a Christmas classic. With memorable songs and beautiful instrumentation, many cannot imagine Christmas without it. Dance companies perform the ballet year after year with spectators coming to watch annually. There have even been LGBT, hip hop, and Jewish adaptations to the popular ballet (Begley). Thousands of musicians and dancers all over the world perform it to add to the excitement and cheer of the holidays.

On November 25, 2017 I attended The Nutcracker ballet performance at the Eisemann Center. The dance was adapted from a story by E.T.A Hoffman with the music by Tchaikovsky. The show was a faithful adaptation of The Nutcracker with the dancers, costumes, sets, and Tchaikovsky’s music all playing an integral part in depicting the story in an entertaining way. Overall, the presentation was successful in portraying the holiday classic that is The Nutcracker, and the majestic sets and costumes along with the music allowed for sustained attention and spectacle that was still true to the narrative of The Nutcracker. The production did this by having grand, bright costumes and sets that resembled the time period of The Nutcracker and depicted the setting of the dances, the original music by Tchaikovsky which was able to produce the emotions that come with the story, and lighting techniques that showed the weather and time of day which helped show what scenes were being told throughout the performance.

Another one of the main differences between Russian ballets and Balanchine ballets are the people or items of importance that might inspire a ballet to be created. There are so many ballets that have been inspired by things like old folklores or ancient fairy-tales. These ballets are likely to be of Russian origin. Many ballets such as Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, or even The Nutcracker are just few of the many examples of Russian originated ballets based on fairy-tales. “Petipa’s later works showed the way to much of the innovation of the future, and the choreography and pedagogy of Balanchine (though carried on primarily in the United States) represent the most important creative response to the legacy of Petipa’s nineteenth-century ballet academy - and the most significant twentieth-century development of Russian ballet traditions.” (Scholl 2) However, Balanchine was not so quick to rely on thing such as old stories or folkloric tales. Many of Balanchine’s ballets rely on the things that were around

Which choreographer created several famous full length ballets, including Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker?

The introduction opens with a descending minor scale by pizzicato strings, followed by  three sforzandos in the orchestra. Section A begins with strings, woodwind and brass playing a waltz rhythm, which modulates to major. The strings play melody 1, which is then repeated with piccolo countermelody. Brass and string crescendo and cymbal crash before strings play melody 2 which is dotted, and followed by suspensions and an imperfect cadence. The suspensions are repeated with a perfect

At 0:46 they introduce the first orator/conductor by the name of Michael Tielsson Thomas. Everyone applauds him. He explains what the audience will be in for for the evening. Then, clips of some of the orchestra members appear on the wall via projection. At 07:15 the orchestra then begins to play Allegro giocoso from Symphony No.4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms from the Baroque Period. It was written in Austria by 1880s. The symphony is scored for two flutes (one doubling on piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle and strings.

The first movement began with a very strong texture as the music reflected a very powerful theme. It began with the heavy instrumentation from the strings including cellos, violins, and basses. The tempo was also relatively fast and generally upbeat. About a minute and half in there was a very noticeable solo by the violins which was a bit softer in terms of the texture. The melody seemed to be very upbeat and cheerful. Lasting the form of the movement was very well structured and the instruments backed each other up smoothly.

Listening to Music class has taught me a new way to listen and enjoy music. I have learned how to differentiate the melodies, rhythms, and instruments in a song. It has also introduced me to different genres in the music world, aside from what is usually played on the radio. I can now attend any concert, listen to any genre, or watch any ballet and easily recognize the many specific aspects the music being played has. Ballets are very interesting to me. The audience is able to enjoy the music being played as it is telling a story, and being acted out through the performer’s body language. In the two ballets, The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker, a great story is told in both referencing the many great dynamics music has. These two specific ballets are written by different composers, and each one of them have certain conditions they were written under. As well as different receptions, popularity, and development. The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker’s differences has made some sort of an impact in the performing world back then as well as now.

On the evening of Sunday, December 16, 2012, I had the pleasure of attending a concert I’d wanted to see for quite a while. I was delighted to attend Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, performed by the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Ballet. The performance took place at Carpenter Theatre in Richmond Virginia. As I entered I felt a bit out of place. I’d never attended a performance quite like this one and I was a bit nervous. I took my seat to the left of the orchestra pit. I was thrilled to see how close I was. I had arranged for a seat near the orchestra so I could observe them as they played.

The first piece that was played was Mozart’s Symphony No.40. This is a beautiful piece of music. There are 38 players in the orchestra for this piece. And they all played

He later explained his departure from his native country to the New Statesman, saying, "I am individualist and there it is a crime." He consequently joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Within two years of living in Canada, he got the opportunity to work with several creative choreographers and explored the combination of traditional and contemporary technique. During this period he worked as a freelance artist with popular choreographers and companies like Alvin Ailey, Glen Tetley, Twyla Tharp and Jerome Robbins. Between 1974 and 1978, he was associated with the American Ballet Theatre as principal dancer partnering with ballerina Gelsey Kirkland. During this period he improvised and choreographed Russian classics like The Nutcracker in 1976 and Don Quixote in 1978. He made his debut performance in television in 1976 in In Performance Live with Wolf Trap. The following year, television network CBS bought his very popular ballet theatre performance of The Nutcracker for