I'm not sure what happened....or why, or how, but I remember when.
I was driving to work early one wintry morning. I was listening to Classical 89 because, frankly, other stations have too much conversation and advertisements and disrupting music. It was a sunny day in winter, a welcome relief from the onset of the months of immersion. I was driving west with the yellow sun behind me highlighting the snow covered mountains ahead of me. The disc jockey announced that a number from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker would begin shortly. That's when it happened.
Tchaikovsky's music began and with it sang my soul!
As the dynamics rose so did my mood as the tempo accelerated so did my heart. For everyone else it was a cold day in December but in the cab of my truck it was a warm summers morning. I had heard Tchaikovsky but never before had I been so moved! It wasn't long before I had purchased the music of his three ballets: The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. It's not only his ballets that I enjoy. As I've continued to research his music and listen to classical radio I have been exposed to more of his compositions, but it was with the ballets that I was first converted.
Now, almost a year later, Tchaikovsky still reaches me in the same way. It's the fullness of his sound! The dynamics are compelling. The way he incorporates brass instruments creates a full and tenacious voice. The strings and woodwinds soar while the timpani booms and echoes into life. It's glorious!! I can feel his music. Every day I pull into my drive way and plunge into my yard with the cacophony of I-15 at my throat. I step into our apartment and close the door on the world. What was once the roar and hiss of the interstate becomes a muffled whir and hum. I turn on Tchaikovsky and I have fully escaped. It's difficult for me to understand why Tchaikovsky's music was once described as "...lacking in elevated thought", for the past year that is all it has brought me.
I hear Tchaikovsky and remember how blessed I am with ears to hear that allow me to appreciate the miracles that are God's creation. Spencer comes home to find me cooking to Tchaikovsky on a regular basis. Being the wonderful-wonder that he is, he simply smiles, takes my hand, and waltzes and promenades me through our kitchen and dining room (he even lets me repeat my favorites...a few times...in a row). I recommend The Nutcracker any time of year and Swan Lake, it's my personal favorite .
Here, you'll find a list of my favorite numbers from Tchaikovsky's ballets:
(Tchaikovsky is best enjoyed at a higher volume, think: Concert Hall)
Sleeping Beauty
Op. 66 Prologue, The Christening, 1. Marche
Op. 66 Act 1, The Spell 6. Valse
Op. 66 Act 1, The Spell 7. Scene
Swan Lake
Scene No. 1
The Waltz
Scene No. 10 (this may possibly be my most-absolute-without-a-doubt-favorite)
No. 4 Danse Des Petit Cygnes
Waltz and Fanfare
Danse Espagnole
Danse Napolitaine
Mazurka
The Nutcracker
(my favorites are the "character dances" and the Intrada....it hardly gets better)
Op. 71: No. 2 March
Scene and Waltz of the Snowflakes
Op. 71: No. 9
Op. 71: No. 12a Character Dances-Chocolate (Spanish dance)
Op. 71: No. 12b Character Dances-Coffee (Arabian dance)
Op. 71: No. 12c Character Dances-Tea (Chinese dance)
Op. 71: No. 12d Character Dances-Trepak (Russian dance)
Op. 71: No. 12e Character Dances-Dance of the Reed Pipes
Op. 71: No. 12f Character Dances-Polchinelle (The Clown)
Op. 71: No. 14a Intrada (Pas de Deux)--POWERFUL
Op. 71: No. 14c Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies
Op. 71: No. 15 Final Waltz and Apotheosis
I wish I could link the music for each of these to the title, but I don't know how. You should be able to search the titles in Google or You Tube to enjoy a little P.I. Tchaikovsky.
