♫ Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite Act 1, No 7 Dance of the Flutes ♫

The Nutcracker is a ballet in two acts, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and with a score by Piotr Ilich Tchaikovski (Op. 71). The libretto was adapted from the story of ETA Hoffman The Nutcracker and the King of Mice. It was released in 1892 and, although it was not a success, the suite of 20 minutes to Tchaikovsky extracts of what it was. Despite this, the complete Nutcracked enjoyed enormous success afterward, becoming one of the most famous compositions of Tchaikovsky. ************* Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. His wide-ranging output includes symphonies, operas, ballets, instrumental, chamber music and songs. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, his last three numbered symphonies and the opera Eugene Onegin. Born into a middle-class family, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant, despite his obvious musical precocity. He pursued a musical career against the wishes of his family, entering the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1862 and graduating in 1865. This formal, Western-oriented training set him apart from the contemporary nationalistic movement embodied by the influential group of young Russian composers known as The Five, with whom Tchaikovsky&professional relationship was mixed. Performer: European Archive