# 130 Years of The Nutcracker



## signorsciano (3 mo ago)

Can anybody believe that its been 130 since Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" ballet premiered in 1892?? Well, sadly, when the ballet premiered, it was a flop with critics and audiences. Even Tchaikovsky himself was not a fan of it since he felt it didn't have the dramatic "oomph" he had in "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty". But as the years passed, "The Nutcracker" has become a holiday favorite thanks to many productions on stage and screen, especially the George Balanchine version. Does anybody have a favorite moment from the score of both the "Suite" and the rest of the ballet?? My favorite moment in the "Suite" is both the Arabian and Trepak dances with the former being sultry and quiet and the latter makes you wanna kick up your heels. As for my favorite part on the rest of the ballet, its the battle between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King thanks to Tchaikovsky's brilliant orchestrations of the colors between good and evil. So, what do you think??


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I am burning out on Nutcracker, I'm afraid. I got the Rodzinski recording when I was a kid and loved it; my favorite section back in those days was the Waltz of the Snowflakes that ends Act I. Now, it's the Pas de Deux right after Waltz of the Flowers. It's an amazing score really, and its continued popularity is a good thing: one of the few classical works still in the public ear. But having played it (complete) for 18 years, conducted it several times, and played the annually uniquitous Suite more times than I can remember, I'm ready for something new. Someone should write a Krampus ballet!


----------



## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

A masterpiece that never fails to cheer me up. My favorite part is the extremely beautiful Pas de deux, carrying the stamp of the composer as a brilliant tunesmith and orchestrator.


----------



## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

mbhaub said:


> I am burning out on Nutcracker, I'm afraid. I got the Rodzinski recording when I was a kid and loved it; my favorite section back in those days was the Waltz of the Snowflakes that ends Act I. Now, it's the Pas de Deux right after Waltz of the Flowers. It's an amazing score really, and its continued popularity is a good thing: one of the few classical works still in the public ear. But having played it (complete) for 18 years, conducted it several times, and played the annually uniquitous Suite more times than I can remember, *I'm ready for something new*. Someone should write a Krampus ballet!


Glazunov's The Seasons? and/or
Bax's Christmas Eve?


----------



## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I can't recall the last time I listened to it. I did watch it on Blu-Ray this month (Royal Ballet) and I've seen the Balanchine version live a number of times (most often with young'ns in toe. I also enjoyed Mark Morris's _The Hard Nut_ a few years back. The Waltz of the Snowflakes is a showstopper.


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

mbhaub said:


> its continued popularity is a good thing: one of the few classical works still in the public ear.


I'm sure there were "elitists" (shortly after Tchaikovsky's time, at the turn of the century) saying "it's too much like popular music, it'll soon be forgotten. It doesn't deserve to be considered as classical music."


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

I love _The Nutcracker_ and the other two Tchaikovsky ballets for that matter, but I have been rather careful never to overplay them. _The Nutcracker_ for many listeners is a holiday listening ritual, but I've never subscribed to this myself, although I may actually give it a listen tomorrow since it has been quite some time since I've listened to it. The member (@mbhaub) said he wants something new, well, if you dig around enough you'll find plenty of works that you never heard before or knew existed. Google is your friend.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

It is and stays a masterpiece from the start, I am sure throughout coming times. eternity perhaps.


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Neo Romanza said:


> I love _The Nutcracker_ and the other two Tchaikovsky ballets for that matter, but I have been rather careful never to overplay them. _The Nutcracker_ for many listeners is a holiday listening ritual, but I've never subscribed to this myself, although I may actually give it a listen tomorrow since it has been quite some time since I've listened to it. The member (@mbhaub) said he wants something new, well, if you dig around enough you'll find plenty of works that you never heard before or knew existed. Google is your friend.


Oh, I know plenty of ballets; what I'm looking for - and haven't found - is another suitable for the Christmas season. See, opera has choices: Rimsky-Korsakov's Christmas Eve, Hans Pfitzner's Das Christelflein. And for some reason Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel has become a Christmas staple (it really belongs on a Halloween schedule). Choral groups have Messiah, but many other suitable works. But ballet is really lacking. There's that The Snowman by Blake, but Blake is no Tchaikovsky. If you play some music too many times you just get burned out on it. That's why I haven't played Messiah in ten years or so; I did enough, over and over and over for so many years that I was just thoroughly bored with it. Same with Nutcracker.


----------



## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Orfeo said:


> Glazunov's The Seasons? and/or
> Bax's Christmas Eve?


Yes on Bax, actually _Christmas Eve in the Mountains_


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

mbhaub said:


> Oh, I know plenty of ballets; what I'm looking for - and haven't found - is another suitable for the Christmas season. See, opera has choices: Rimsky-Korsakov's Christmas Eve, Hans Pfitzner's Das Christelflein. And for some reason Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel has become a Christmas staple (it really belongs on a Halloween schedule). Choral groups have Messiah, but many other suitable works. But ballet is really lacking. There's that The Snowman by Blake, but Blake is no Tchaikovsky. If you play some music too many times you just get burned out on it. That's why I haven't played Messiah in ten years or so; I did enough, over and over and over for so many years that I was just thoroughly bored with it. Same with Nutcracker.


I still hold the opinion that doing a simple Google search could yield some interesting results for you or not. It's like you're afraid to do any research yourself.


----------



## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

I don't care for it much myself. Nonetheless, I took my grandsons (age 2.5 and 4) to a live performance about a week ago. They were well extremely well-behaved and enjoyed it thoroughly.

So I am more enthusiastic for now.


----------

