# Piano reductions for Tchaikovsky ballet suites: discussion and recommendation



## kylecheng

There are a number of recordings for the piano reduction of the three Tchaikovsky ballet suites.

Ones I have listened to or sampled include (all of them are for four hands):

Aurora Duo, Naxos: SL (arr. Langer), SB (arr. Rachmaninov), NC (arr. Esipoff)
Argerich and Economou, DG: NC (arr. Economou)
Kodama sisters, Pentatone: SL (arr. Langer), SB (arr. Rachmaninov), NC (arr. Arensky)
*** note: SL: Swan Lake; SV: the Sleeping Beauty: NC: the Nutcracker

As shown, there are multiple versions of piano reduction for the Nutcracker. The aforementioned arrangements were all based on the op.71a suite. Yet another very interesting version I know of is arranged by Pletnev and features a different set of excerpts. I only know of one recording of this arranged version:

Dariescu, Signum classics: NC (arr. Pletnev)

To my untrained ear, I find the Aurora Duo's recording to be crispier and more _dansante_, which is further enhanced by Naxos's clean sound engineering. On the other hand, Argerich is as elegant, melodic, and captivating as ever. The Kodama sisters, in comparison, sounded clean and steady if slightly conservative.

The Dariescu/Pletnev recording benefits from, IMHO, a more interesting selection of movements, with the inclusion of "A Pine Forest in Winter", arguably the best harmonised and most picturesque title in the ballet, and the Act II pas de deux, for me the emotional climax of the ballet and a gloriously written music. In the titles that overlap with op.71a (that is, ones that are also included in the three four-hand versions mentioned on top), however, Dariescu's solo piano can (perhaps inevitably) be less colourful and captures fewer details of the orchestral score.

Is there any other version/recording of the three Tchaikovsky ballet suites you enjoy?
It would be lovely to know your thoughts on these recordings as well as relevant topics, and, of course, your valuable experiences of playing them on piano yourself!


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## mikeh375

Here's a solo Pletnev live in case you haven't seen it...who needs 4 hands eh?


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## kylecheng

Thanks Mikeh for the recommendation! I have indeed not seen Mr Pletnev play his own arrangement; this is very interesting. You're quite right that it is arguably more impressive to be able to create a satisfactory soundscape with just two rather than four hands!

I also quite like this recording of the complete Nutcracker on solo piano by Mr Stewart Goodyear on the Steinway label.
https://www.steinway.com/music-and-artists/label/tchaikovsky-nutcracker-stewart-goodyear


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