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TCHAIKOVSKY – Swan Lake Scene (Introduction) – 8 CELLOS

Other Identification:
In 1882 Tchaikovsky considered creating a concert suite out of numbers from his ballet Swan Lake (Лебединое озеро), which he had composed six years previously. However, he seems not to have made a final decision, and the exact authorship of the concert suite published after his death as Op. 20a is uncertain. Seven years after Tchaikovsky’s death, in November 1900, Jurgenson published a “suite” of six numbers from the ballet, as “Op. 20a”. It is unclear who chose these numbers from the ballet, and it is still possible that Tchaikovsky made the selection himself at some point during the 1880s or early 1890s.

Movements or sections:
The opening movement of the suite is taken from the opening scene of the second act. The music represents the theme of the Swan. The melody, first introduced by a solo oboe, is accompanied by shimmering strings and a whimsical harp. The atmosphere is relaxed, calm and full of magic. As the orchestra begins to build and unite, the French horns take the iconic theme which offers a new atmosphere. Now heroic, bold and intense the melody is beginning to unravel. The strings take a romantic swish of the melody before the brass begins to build the tension in the background. A final explosion of colour as a brass fanfare leads into a cascade of descending scales, the final reprise of the melody is heard primarily from the upper strings. Accentuated by off-beat heavy brass, the melody has turned dramatic and is high in intensity. The movement ends quietly and calmly.

Instrumentation:
OCTET OF EIGHT CELLOS
This version for cellos is scored for four cello desks, and needing EIGHT (or more) individual cellists.
Arranged by David Johnstone

This music is in 3 PDFs:
[1 – General Score
[2 – Cellos 1 to 4
[3 – Cellos 5 to 8

Approximate difficulty:
Medium to difficult

Dedicatee of this presentation (if applicable):
This present setting is dedicated to the Ukrainian/Spanish cellist Татьяна Мертелова (Tetiana Mertelova)

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