Drum roll please
(see figure below)
(see figure below)
Did you guess Ballet? Well, that's it. Before her big break with the Mickey Mouse Club, sometime around Christmas, Britney was putting on her costume for the Nutcracker. Yeah, that ballet that Tchaikovsky threw down around Christmas 1892. So what else did he compose besides the most well-known ballet of all time. . ? . . heaps. For starters he wrote 6 symphonies, Swan Lake, 3 Piano concerti, the 1812 overture, a Violin Concerto, and a really nice trio in a minor.
So besides being in his ballet, now spears can say she has done Tchaikovsky one better. According to National Public Radio she now has a ballet about her life:
All Things Considered: January 31, 2008 · Pop icon Britney Spears' story is now the subject of a new modern ballet. Meltdown premieres Friday night in London and traces the rise and fall of the singer and tabloid favorite. According to the show's choreographer, he was inspired by every detail of Spears' life and how her story had become a "modern tragedy."
Who knew? Well, to carry on, Tchaikovsky's piano music output is quite slim (mostly short character pieces) compared to say Brahms, but he does have one or two pieces that I fancy. One that sticks to me is Dumka Op. 59. It's about a nine minute piece in C minor which can really move some audiences. I also like some of the movements out of the Seasons. I think that it might work on a recital program as a whole, but I would be one of those people who would fall asleep. There isn't really enough good and consistent material to work with for 45 minutes. But you should really listen to June, not just cause it's my birth month, but because it's beautiful. Okay, so besides seasons and dumka what else does he have? He wrote a couple of sonatas and the rest are short pieces . . .so is there anything else worth learning? Yeah, check out the second piano concerto which definitely is a gem overshadowed by the first. Also there is a great transcription of the nutcracker by Pletnev. This is a virtuoso delight. Don't touch it unless you have learned your scales and arpeggios to blazing speeds. It's also fun.
Besides Tchaikovsky another famous Russian is the drunk Mussorgsky. He wrote pictures . . .that's all. . .Wait! Speaking of pictures . . .what do you know?
So besides being in his ballet, now spears can say she has done Tchaikovsky one better. According to National Public Radio she now has a ballet about her life:
All Things Considered: January 31, 2008 · Pop icon Britney Spears' story is now the subject of a new modern ballet. Meltdown premieres Friday night in London and traces the rise and fall of the singer and tabloid favorite. According to the show's choreographer, he was inspired by every detail of Spears' life and how her story had become a "modern tragedy."
Who knew? Well, to carry on, Tchaikovsky's piano music output is quite slim (mostly short character pieces) compared to say Brahms, but he does have one or two pieces that I fancy. One that sticks to me is Dumka Op. 59. It's about a nine minute piece in C minor which can really move some audiences. I also like some of the movements out of the Seasons. I think that it might work on a recital program as a whole, but I would be one of those people who would fall asleep. There isn't really enough good and consistent material to work with for 45 minutes. But you should really listen to June, not just cause it's my birth month, but because it's beautiful. Okay, so besides seasons and dumka what else does he have? He wrote a couple of sonatas and the rest are short pieces . . .so is there anything else worth learning? Yeah, check out the second piano concerto which definitely is a gem overshadowed by the first. Also there is a great transcription of the nutcracker by Pletnev. This is a virtuoso delight. Don't touch it unless you have learned your scales and arpeggios to blazing speeds. It's also fun.
Besides Tchaikovsky another famous Russian is the drunk Mussorgsky. He wrote pictures . . .that's all. . .Wait! Speaking of pictures . . .what do you know?
That's all folks!
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