Peter Iljitsch Tschaikowsky

Swan Lake op. 20: Act I, No. 5: Pas de Deux

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 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. This orchestra reduction has been arranged by the well-known ballet director William McDermott, based on the score from the Complete Collected Works edited by Irina Iordan and Georgy Kirkor, though no score of the reduction exists. Instrumentation: 2+Picc.2.2.1: 2.2.1.0: Timp.Perc(3-4): Hp: Str (4.4.3.3.3 in set): [No score in set]. An edition by William McDermott of the full orchestration, also based on the same Iordan/Kirkor score, is also available form the publisher. For a score, it is recommended that conductors use the version available with the full orchestration (A890401).