Swan Lake
Swan Lake began life as a short ballet to entertain his nieces, called The Lake of Swans, but was later developed into the full-length ballet we know today. First performed at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre in 1877 with weak choreography, the music was instantly a hit and stood out from the usual crowd of ballet scores. The director of Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, supported the composer and inspired him to compose two subsequent ballets: Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
Unsurprisingly, we named Swan Lake as one of the best pieces of music inspired by swans.
The Nutcracker
Is there a sound more festive than the celesta in the celebrated ‘Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy’? Its sound is reminiscent of the music boxes of the time – just one of the many sounds of toys heard throughout Tchaikovsky’s colourful score. You can also hear toy trumpets, toy drums, cuckoos, quails and cymbals, designed to be played on-stage by the child dancers.
Unlike many other ballets, The Nutcracker really is one for the whole family. With children forming a key part of the plot itself, there’s another crucial aspect of the ballet to mention to parents and would-be audiences. Despite being a ‘full-length’ ballet, The Nutcracker is barely more than half the length of either of Tchaikovsky’s ballets that came before it: Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. In other words, you can get the kids home and in bed before midnight. Bonus.
The ballet crops up in various guises in popular culture, from the Barbie film adaptation and The Simpsons to a Joan Collins film and a Cadbury advert from the 1970s.
Cinderella
The story of Cinderella has been transformed into a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber
The Sleeping Beauty
Another collaboration between Tchaikovsky and Ivan Vsevolozhsky, Sleeping Beauty brought on board the legendary choreographer Marius Petipa, who subsequently rejoined the team for the sequel ballet, The Nutcracker.
Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare’s story of Romeo and Juliet has been adapted for many works of classical music. We name some of the best uses of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet here.
Here, we name the best recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet.
The Red Shoes
based on the story of The Red Shoes by Hans Christian Andersen
The Little Match Girl
The Snowman
We named The Snowman as one of the best festive film scores.
Hansel and Gretel
In 1943, Humperdinck’s opera Hansel and Gretel became the first opera to be shown on television.
The Snow Queen
Another adaptation of a story by Hans Christian Andersen