Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” Suite
Notes by TŌN keyboard player Neilson Chen
As the holidays approach, we are sure to see more Nutcracker on the program in different venues around the world, as it is one of the most delightful tunes and charming characters which fits the atmosphere of the season.
As a very thoughtful but life-frustrated composer, many compositions that Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky wrote gave people some degree of depression. However, even though many tragedies happened in his life, a number of his works provide joyful and happy elements—The Nutcracker is one of these. Tchaikovsky wrote a total of three ballets in his life, and The Nutcracker is the last of them. The story is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1816 fairy tale Nussknacker und Mausekönig (Nutcracker and Mouse King). However, Hoffmann’s version of the story is intended more for adults due to violence and horrific battle scenes. Luckily, in 1844 French writer and dramatist Alexander Dumas recognized the opportunity and retold the story, adding some sweet scenes, making it happier and more appropriate for children. In 1891, Tchaikovsky was commissioned to score the music for this ballet. The ballet was initially scheduled to premiere in the 1891–92 season. However, due to Tchaikovsky making an important and meaningful trip to New York for the opening ceremony of Carnegie Hall, the premiere was postponed to the following season, and the suite of music from The Nutcracker premiered first as a consequence.
The Nutcracker Suite is an orchestral suite—the only suite that Tchaikovsky himself compiled in his life—and it is intended for concert use. It premiered in early 1892 at the Russian Musical Society Concert in Saint Petersburg. Eight sections from the ballet were selected by the composer. Among those eight selections, only one (March) is from Act I and the remaining are from Act II. At the beginning of the suite, a feeling of Christmas celebration is immediately heard by the listener, and that atmosphere stays for the entire duration of the suite. Although each section in this suite has its own unique and fascinating points, in Tchaikovsky’s view, the “Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy” allowed him to showcase a new instrument that amazed him—the celeste—making it perhaps the only part of the score he was proud of.