Dukas's The Sorcerer's Apprentice gained new popularity when Walt Disney featured it as an episode in his 1941 film Fantasia, starring Mickey Mouse.
Composition History
Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker was commissioned by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, Director of the Russian Imperial Theatres, as part of a double bill with an opera.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in September 2003 at the Philharmonia in St. Petersburg, with Tobin Prior and Ingrid Sutej as executive producers.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Tchaikovsky viewed the second act of The Nutcracker as an idealization of his happy childhood, indulging in what he admired as 'le joli' (prettiness) in French art.
Compositional Technique
Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker music is intentionally 'chocolate-box music,' designed to evoke the deliciousness of varied flavors through specific tone colors and melodies.
Composition History
Prokofiev was drawn to the sardonic humor of the 1933 film Lieutenant Kijé and composed its music, later creating a five-movement suite from it.
Composer Biography
Paul Dukas intentionally made his list of works short by destroying later compositions he felt did not meet his high standards.
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