The Nutcracker Project
In 2015, I began an ambitious endeavor to arrange each of the movements of Tchaikovsky’s seasonal classic, The Nutcracker ballet, for Two Pianos, Four Hands. I had the goal of arranging one movement each year, and started with my favorite, the Pas de Deux, and then starting at the poroper point with the Overture as well. While multiple arrangements exist for the Nutcracker Suites, they are all for One Piano, Four Hands, and they simply don’t do justice to the complexities present within the full orchestral score. Overlapping parts make it an impossibility for a single piano to cover more than just the essentials.
Other than having a passionate obsession for this music, I didn’t, and still don’t, have a particular endgame for this project. Certainly nobody would ever want to just sit and listen to a piano concert of the entire ballet. Maybe some smaller community productions who don’t have enough of a budget for an orchestra, but still want to have the enjoyment of a live musical performance. The parts don’t lend themselves to anything but gifted and technically proficient pianists. Even as the creator of the arrangement, I struggle with many of the delicate passages and know I would have to practice them extensively to make it serviceable. I also have a distant dream of one day conducting the Nutcracker, so it is fun studying the parts as I create the arrangements.
2015 – Overture
01-Overture-2020-09-262016 – No. 1 The Christmas Tree
02-The-Christmas-Tree-2020-10-182017 – No. 2 March
03-March-2020-10-182018 – No. 3 Children’s Gallop and Dance of the Parents
04-Childrens-Gallop-and-Dance-of-the-Parents-2020-11-112019 – No. 4 Arrival of Drosselmeyer
05-Arrival-of-Drosselmeyer-2020-10-252020 – No. 5 Grandfather’s Waltz
06-Grandfathers-Waltz-2020-12-08