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- Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyitch
- Simpson, Carl
Duration: 5 minutes
Description: One of the most popular ballets, Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) composed SWAN LAKE in 1875-76. Tchaikovsky borrowed from the Russian and German folk tales to tell the of story a princess, Odette, who was turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse. SWAN LAKE premiered on March 4, 1877, at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The present critical edition by Carl Simpson is based upon the full score issued by P. Jurgenson sometime between 1881 and 1896 and the Nikolai Kashkin piano reduction. The pas de deux in Act I, Scene 5 of the original production later appeared in Act III for the 1895 revival of the ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. In this version choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, it is also known as the “Black Swan Pas de Deux,” famous for the 32 fouettés which serve to illustrate its technical virtuosity. Instrumentation: 2+Picc.2.2.2: 4.2+2(Crnt).3.1: Timp.Perc(4): Str (4.4.3.3.3 in set). This critical edition has been edited by Carl Simpson.