The Nutcracker SuiteFor Late E lementar y to Ear ly Intermediate P ian ists

Peter Ilyich TchaikovskyArranged by Gayle Kowalchyk and E. L. Lancaster

Foreword

ContentsMiniature Overture ...........................................................2

March..............................................................................4

Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy ...........................................6

Russian Dance (Trépak) ....................................................8

Arabian Dance ...............................................................10

Chinese Dance...............................................................12

Dance of the Reed Flutes ...............................................14

Waltz of the Flowers .......................................................17

Copyright © MCMXCVI by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.All rights reserved. Printed in USA.

Cover art and illustrations: Christine Finn Cover design: Candace SmithMusic engraving: Greg Plumblee

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), aRussian composer, finished the Nutcracker balletin 1892. It was based on Alexandre Dumas’sadaptation of E.T.A. Hoffman’s story TheNutcracker and the Mouse King. The firstperformance of the ballet was at the MaryinskyTheatre in St. Petersburg on December 18, 1892.Tchaikovsky arranged selections from the ballet asan orchestral suite as well as for solo piano. Theorchestral version is widely considered to be amasterpiece of orchestration. After Tchaikovskyfirst used the celesta in this work, it became astandard instrument in many orchestral scores.

The story of the Nutcracker begins at aChristmas party given by Clara and Fritz’s par-ents. Herr Drosselmeyer brings gifts for bothyoung children, Clara and Fritz. Clara’s gift is aNutcracker which, unfortunately, is broken duringthe party. After the party is over and everyone isasleep, Clara sneaks back into the room to findthe injured Nutcracker. Suddenly, the Christmastree magically expands to an enormous size andan army of mice appear from the corners of the

room. The mice, led by the Mouse King, chal-lenge a company of toy soldiers, led by theNutcracker, to battle. Just as the soldiers areabout to lose the battle, Clara throws her shoeand hits the Mouse King. The mice flee and theNutcracker is transformed into a handsomeprince, who invites Clara to visit his kingdom. Onthe way, they are met by the King and Queen ofSnow and then go to the Kingdom of Sweets.The Sugarplum Fairy greets them and leads theminto the palace where a number of dances(Russian Dance, Arabian Dance, Chinese Danceand Dance of the Reed Flutes) are presented forthem. The entire company joins in the final waltzand Clara dreams of living happily with the princein the enchanted kingdom for the rest of her life.

Since its first performance in the UnitedStates in 1940, the Nutcracker continues to cap-tivate audiences each Christmas season. Thesearrangements will delight late elementary to earlyintermediate pianists as they recreate scenesfrom the ballet at the piano.

6

Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy

Peter Ilyich TchaikovskyArr. by Kowalchyk/Lancaster

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14

Dance of the Reed FlutesPeter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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