I. March Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev II. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev III. Trepak Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev IV. Chinese Dance Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev V. Waltz of the Flowers Transcription by Vyacheslav Gryaznov VI. Andante maestoso Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev
Today’s program is part of a larger program that Mr. Vázquez has been playing since last season titled: “Dreams: piano transcriptions of works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff”. Mr. Vázquez will record this program this year as his second album, following his debut with Piano Classics (PCL0101) “Love and Death: piano transcriptions of Wagner and Verdi operas”.
This recital revolves around the fascinating subject of dreams and its representation in nature, romance, and magic. The text of the first song by Rachmaninoff states that “there is nothing more desirable in the world than a dream. It has magic stillness… it has two immense wings, as light as the shadow of midnight”. The second is the song of a lover, alone in a beautiful place, daydreaming. It ends with the lines “there are no people here, there is just silence here, only God and I are here. Flowers, and an old pine tree, and you, my daydream!” The third song has the lover saying “Oh, I will spend long moments in the mysterious silence of the night, rending the darkness with thy cherished name.” The fourth song is an enthusiastic celebration of the arrival of Spring, which has “unleashed all the streams. They run and sparkle as they go, and wake the shores from drowsy dreams.”
The second part of the program is the famous Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. This classic of the ballet repertoire is set on Christmas Eve in the house of young Clara, where a March is played at the beginning of the party. Clara is given a wooden nutcracker as a gift by Mr. Drosselmeyer, a magician and her godfather.
At night when everyone is asleep, Clara has a magical dream in which the toys come to life and fight the mouse king, who is finally defeated by The Nutcracker. He is then transformed into a handsome prince and together with Clara they travel to the Land of Sweets ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy. In honor of the heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world takes place, including tea from China and candy canes from Russia, and finally a waltz is performed by the flowers. The suite concludes with the Grand Pas de Deux (Andante maestoso).
Three great pianists of three different generations are the transcribers of this recital’s music: Earl Wild (United States, 1915-2010), Mikhail Pletnev (Russia, 1957), and Vyacheslav Gryaznov (Russia, 1982). Each with his own particular style has managed to translate into the piano the richness of colors of the original settings (voice and piano, orchestra). Naturally, the technical difficulties are enormous.Notes by Abdiel Vázquez
Classical Music | Piano Music
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Nutcracker Suite Play
Recorded on 05/04/2016, uploaded on 01/17/2017
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
I. March Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev
II. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev
III. Trepak Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev
IV. Chinese Dance Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev
V. Waltz of the Flowers Transcription by Vyacheslav Gryaznov
VI. Andante maestoso Transcription by Mikhail Pletnev
Today’s program is part of a larger program that Mr. Vázquez has been playing since last season titled: “Dreams: piano transcriptions of works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff”. Mr. Vázquez will record this program this year as his second album, following his debut with Piano Classics (PCL0101) “Love and Death: piano transcriptions of Wagner and Verdi operas”.
This recital revolves around the fascinating subject of dreams and its representation in nature, romance, and magic. The text of the first song by Rachmaninoff states that “there is nothing more desirable in the world than a dream. It has magic stillness… it has two immense wings, as light as the shadow of midnight”. The second is the song of a lover, alone in a beautiful place, daydreaming. It ends with the lines “there are no people here, there is just silence here, only God and I are here. Flowers, and an old pine tree, and you, my daydream!” The third song has the lover saying “Oh, I will spend long moments in the mysterious silence of the night, rending the darkness with thy cherished name.” The fourth song is an enthusiastic celebration of the arrival of Spring, which has “unleashed all the streams. They run and sparkle as they go, and wake the shores from drowsy dreams.”
The second part of the program is the famous Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. This classic of the ballet repertoire is set on Christmas Eve in the house of young Clara, where a March is played at the beginning of the party. Clara is given a wooden nutcracker as a gift by Mr. Drosselmeyer, a magician and her godfather.
At night when everyone is asleep, Clara has a magical dream in which the toys come to life and fight the mouse king, who is finally defeated by The Nutcracker. He is then transformed into a handsome prince and together with Clara they travel to the Land of Sweets ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy. In honor of the heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world takes place, including tea from China and candy canes from Russia, and finally a waltz is performed by the flowers. The suite concludes with the Grand Pas de Deux (Andante maestoso).
Three great pianists of three different generations are the transcribers of this recital’s music: Earl Wild (United States, 1915-2010), Mikhail Pletnev (Russia, 1957), and Vyacheslav Gryaznov (Russia, 1982). Each with his own particular style has managed to translate into the piano the richness of colors of the original settings (voice and piano, orchestra). Naturally, the technical difficulties are enormous. Notes by Abdiel Vázquez
More music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Meditation, from 18 Pieces, Op.72
Russian Dance, from 12 Pieces, Op. 40, No. 10
Valse-Scherzo in C Major
Dumka, Op. 59
Melodie, Op. 42, No. 3
Hermann's arioso ("Forgive me..."), Scene 2, The Queen of Spades
Piano Concerto No. 1 in b-flat minor, Op. 23
Violin Concerto
String Sextet in D minor, Op. 70 "Souvenir de Florence"
Romeo and Juliet
Performances by same musician(s)
Four Songs
Classical Music for the Internet Era™
Courtesy of International Music Foundation.