Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71, TH 14 (Excerpts Arr. for Brass Septet & Percussion)

Featuring

Scott Lumsdaine
Sir Derek George Jacobi
Septura
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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Performer Biography

The narration for this album is provided by Derek Jacobi, a leading British actor known for his work in stage, film, television, and audiobooks.

Compositional Technique

Tchaikovsky's original score for The Nutcracker uses a celeste for the Sugar Plum Fairy's dance, which is here adapted for three harmon-muted trumpets.

Recording & Production

This recording of The Nutcracker is devoted to just one piece, a first in Septura's album series, illuminating Tchaikovsky's score through the unique sound of the brass septet.

Performer Biography

Septura is a brass septet that aims to redefine brass chamber music by creating a canon of transcriptions, arrangements, and new commissions.

Interpretation

This recording presents a selection of movements from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, arranged for brass septet by Matthew Knight and Simon Cox.

Composition History

Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker, composed in 1892, is based on Alexandre Dumas' adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann's story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.

Recording & Production

Septura is recording a series of albums for Naxos, each focused on a particular period, genre, and set of composers, creating a 'counter-factual history' of brass chamber music.