Favourite piece of music from a ballet

[MinkusPugni]

This time, I don't want to know your overall favourite ballet. What is your favourite individual piece from a ballet? This should be interesting! Give me your top five.

Mine would be:

1. Sapphire Fairy Variation from Act III of Sleeping Beauty

2. Dance of the Swans from Act IV of Swan Lake

3. Waltz of the Snow Flakes from Nutcracker

4. Waltz of the Hours from Coppelia

5. Panorama from Act II of Sleeping Beauty

[chrisk217]

Aurora's entrance, practically all the music with the Dryads, the cats, the ActIII pdd.

Odile's solo esp. at the end when the music becomes more urgent and she moves diagonally while wrapping her leg.

Also the ActIV music where Siegfried searches for her.

R&J dance of the knights, the music where Juliet dances with Paris.

The music of the hours(?) in Cinderella - from the point where they pas de chat their way on stage till the end of the waltz (my favorite waltz)

The fairy song and the end of Balanchine's MN'sD

Manon's brothel solo and the music where the patrons move her around.

And some Minkus music (I hope ) for you MinkusPugni:

Nikiya's act 1 solo, the entrance of the shades music after they are all on stage.

Kitri's end of act 1 variation, the queen of the Dryads variation (the one occasionally used in Le corsaire)

The plinky-plinky Paquita grand pas variation that Larissa Lezhnina dances in Kirov Classics. Does it have a name? And why is it so melancholy? Isn't this a wedding?

[Hans]

The variation Lezhnina performs on that tape is originally from Le Pavilion d'Armide.

My favorite music is the Rose Adagio...probably because I know all the choreography and can therefore "watch" it in my head!

[lisinka1]

1. The opening scene of Serenade.

2. The last scene of Apollo...makes me want to cry.

3. The theme from Swan Lake...ohhh always gives me chills.

4. I'm not sure how to describe this one but in Act IV of Swan Lake there is a very long piece that is just so lovely and sad. All of the swans dance to it.

5. Raymonda's variation where she claps her hands.

6. The finale of Sleeping Beauty.

[mohnurka]

In Swan Lake, the first time Siegfried meets Odette, there is a passage that sends me out of this world...

A lot of places in Giselle, too...

[Giselle05]

1. Balcony Scene from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet

2. Entire Black Swan PDD and entire White Swan PDD from Swan Lake

3. Theme and Variations- the theme

4. Don Quixote- Grand PDD

5. Russian Dance from The Nutcracker

6. Intermezzo (PDD) from Bizet's Carmen

7. Many bits of Giselle

[Helene]

From Sleeping Beauty, the transition after the Vision Scene where Desiree looks for Aurora, the beginning of the Grand Pas de Deux, and the Apotheosis music at the end.

Too much from Raymonda to list, but especially the Coda from the Grand Pas Classique.

From Swan Lake, the second part of the Act I opening Waltz (from about the 4'30" mark); the brooding "Andante sustenato" that on the Slatkin recording is the second part of the Pas de Trois, but is often given to Siegfried; the Coda from the White Swan Pas de Deux; the Big Theme whenever it appears; and the entire "Scene finale."

The Midsummer Night's Dream passage that Balanchine used for the Titania/Donkey Pas de Deux, and Ashton used for the Titania/Oberon Pas de Deux.

All of the music from Ballo.

Dance of the Blessed Spirits and the Pas de Cinq music from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

There are some beautiful passages from Sylvia, too, but I don't have a recording of the ballet to name individual sections.

If I listed all of the music that Balanchine used that wasn't written for ballet, this would be a very long post.

[Farrell Fan]

One of my favorites is the Rondo alla Zingarese from Balanchine's Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet. That's because no matter who dances it, I can still see Suzanne Farrell's hair ribbons whipping across Peter Martins's face.

[carbro]

Love it! I can't imagine, though, that that's quite what Brahms had in mind while he was composing it.

[carbro]

Some of mine have already been mentioned:

1. Balcony Scene from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet

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From Sleeping Beauty, the transition after the Vision Scene

Too much from Raymonda to list. . . .

The Midsummer Night's Dream passage that Balanchine used for the Titania/Donkey Pas de Deux, and Ashton used for the Titania/Oberon Pas de Deux.

. . .

Dance of the Blessed Spirits . . . from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice

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I'd add the adagio and Aurora's variation from the Vision scene; the Fair section of Petrouchka, and from the Balanchine Midsummer Night's Dream, the music for the Act II pdd.

[bart]

First things that comes to mind are memorable melodies (not to say, old chestnuts) and guilty pleasures:

1) The part of Tchaikovsky's Suite No. 3 that is used in Elegie.

2) Stravinsky, Firebird -- the pas de deux after she's been captured by the prince; the dance of the young women

3) Debussy, Afternoon of a Faun, all of it

4) Stravinsky, Apollo: main melodic theme (is this Apollo's theme?)

5) Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake: Act II pas de deux with violin solo

6) Katchaturian, adagio pas de deux for Spartacus and Phrygia

7) the formal dance at the Capulets' ball; balcony scene; Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet

[MakarovaFan]

Some of my favorites:

THE NUTCRACKER: The music that accompanies the growth of the Christmas tree. Gives me chills every time I hear it.

THE NUTCRACKER: Act II Grand Pas de Deux. One of the most stunning and romantic pieces Tchaikovsky ever penned. The cellos and the harps at the beginning bring tears to my eyes!

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY: The Act II pas d'action with the cello solo where Aurora dances with Desire.

ROMEO & JULIET: The Act III pas de deux and the music where Juliet runs to Friar Laurence.

SPARTACUS: Both Spartacus & Phrygia Pas de Deux

TCHAIKOVSKY SUITE NO. 3: Elegie

TZIGANE

SYMPHONY IN C: Second Momement

[Mel Johnson]

The Shrovetide Fair scene in "Petrouchka" from the lights-up to the break for the disturbance in the puppet theater.

The Valse des Rayons from "Le Papillon".

The Pas d'Action from "Scenes de Ballet" (Glazunov) - OK, I know it's not a ballet, but it should be.

The Valse from The Bronze Horseman.

The second pas de trois from "Agon".

"Parade" - all of it.

"The Green Table" - ditto.

[Gina Ness]

Lilac Fairy variation from "Sleeping Beauty"

Prayer solo from "Coppelia"

Snow Scene from "The Nutcracker" (I can't believe I'm listing this... :blush: I've danced one too many Nuts in my day!)

Finale or ending music of "The Firebird"

Opening dance of the Ballroom scene in "Romeo and Juliet"

[Paul Parish]

Gina, the snow scene in SFB['s nutcracker was the greatest thing in it, the music is so incredibly stirring, but Christensen's choreography for it was my favorite version I've ever seen -- which includes Balanchine's and Mark Morris's.... so musical, so exciting, those whirling, swirling, eddying dancers flyng in, like they wre caught in the wind... it must have been something to dance that -- so much swooping in the upper body, but with arrowy feet and everthing SO FAST, and with paper snow in your hair and in your eyes and underfoot and up your nose.... If you could do it, it would surely be exhilarating.... Of course you'd love that music.

[carbro]

Paul, thanks for mentioning the Mazurka from Coppelia on the Favorite Corps Dancing thread. :blush: I am putting the music on the list here. Just thinking about it has lifted my mood considerably! :party-smiley-017:

Now, I'm going back to put Balanchine's Snowflakes on the Corps thread.

[Gina Ness]

Hi Paul...Yes, I agree with you about Lew Christensen's Snow Scene choreography. I've danced the corps (the premiere of the 1967 O'Hearn production which is the best of Lew's two productions and which stayed in the rep until the late 80s when Helgi launched a new production that was a blend of Lew's, Willem's, and Helgi's choreography. Mr. Vilzak set the "Trepek" Russian dance) and the Snow Queen (1973-1985). Lew's "Waltz of the Flowers" beats, hands down, ANY choreography for the dance that I have ever seen. I think it is so sad that SFB doesn't perform his "Nutcracker" anymore. I really do love Tchaikovsky's score for "Snow". I, along with MakarovaFan, also LOVE the music where the tree grows at the beginning of the fight scene!

[dachnitsa]

Even after having reduced my list twice, I am still not able to limit on a TOP 5 …

From Swan lake there are the

- Danse des (4) Cygnes. Allegro moderato

- Danse des Cygnes. Coda : Allegro vivo

- Danse Hongroise Czardas

My Nutcracker favourites are

- Divertissement “Trepak – Russian Dance”

- Act II 10 on my recording it says “Dance of the Prince and the Sugar-Plum Fairy (in the version of Grigorovich it is “Dance of the Prince and Marie”)

From Spartacus I choose

- Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia (which always reminds me „My Way“ – but I think Khachaturian was first – does anybody know?)

- Dance of Gaditanae and victory of Spartacus

Since I have seen the ballet for the first time one year ago I could not do to without The Bright Stream

- Act I. Ouverture: Allegro

- Act II. 11. Coda Presto

[atm711]

Sitting in a darkened theater listening to the Swan Lake overture while waiting for the curtain to rise---I get a chill up my spine every time ....

[Mel Johnson]

- Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia (which always reminds me „My Way“ – but I think Khachaturian was first – does anybody know?)

-

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"My Way" was released in 1968, with lyrics by Paul Anka over a 1967 French tune "Comme d'Habitude". The Khachaturian came long before that, but it reminds me of "Stormy Weather"! Now to look that one up!

[bart]

I hear the first 3 notes of Stormy Weather -- but the kitsch spirit is (and I never thought of it before) My Way. Interesting! I love all three.

Why is it that it's always the schmaltzy (sp?) music that sticks in my internal sound track and to which I always do my imaginary choreography. Why can't it be 12-tone or something truly intellectual?

[ignacio_20]

So many of them!!! In no particular order:

- Opening for Serenade

- Russian dance from Swan Lake

- Snake variation from La Bayadere

- Raymonda. A lot of it. The Pas classique always makes me cry

- The Schubert pieces from Duatos's Without Words, specially Du bist die Ruh

- Lots of Prokofiev's R&J. Everytime I listen to it I find a part that I didn't

remember was there and love it

and I could go on forever!

[Cygnet]

So many of them!!!  In no particular order:

- Opening for Serenade

- Russian dance from Swan Lake

- Snake variation from La Bayadere

- Raymonda.  A lot of it.  The Pas classique always makes me cry

- The Schubert pieces from Duatos's Without Words, specially Du bist die Ruh

- Lots of Prokofiev's R&J.  Everytime I listen to it I find a part that I didn't 

  remember was there and love it

and I could go on forever!

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I'm gonna cheat:

LA BAYADERE - Nikiya & Gamzatti's confrontation in Act 1, Nikiya's Act 2 monologue, the entrance of the shades, the Act 3 pdd, and Nikiya's final diagonal

SWAN LAKE - Odile's Act 2 variation (Drigo), Drigo's Act 3, Act 1 Polonaise, Act 2 Czardas, Spanish Dance, Cygnets & Coda Act 1 Scene 2

SLEEPING BEAUTY - Where do I begin? Everything's a masterpiece! Aurora's Act 2 variation, Panorama, Rose Adagio, Prologue March, pas de six, Bluebirds, Canari, Act 3 March, Apotheose, and all things Lilac Fairy, especially the end of

Act 1

NUTCRACKER - Act 2 Pdd

ONEGIN - Act 1 letter Pdd

MANON - Manon's Act 2 variation

RAYMONDA - Clemence's Act 1 variation, all of Act 3

COPPELIA - Swanilda's Act 3 variation

PROKOFIEV - Mistress' waltz & coda Act 1 from STONE FLOWER, R&J - all of Act 1,

Cinderella's Act 2 variation & Winter's Act 1 variation, Anastasia's

first monologue fom IVAN THE TERRIBLE Act 1

All of THEME & VARIATIONS

All of SERENADE

All of DIAMONDS

5th variation from PAQUITA (sounds almost like Sugar Plum)

FIREBIRD's finale

[Giannina]

All of Monotones II

Manon: the scene where her brother offers her to whatshisname and the 2 men hand her back and forth to each other

Carmen: the bedroom pas de deux

Fancy Free: the rhumba solo

Firebird: the finale

These jump into mind; it kills me that I can't think of more.

Giannina

[papeetepatrick]

I was about to start a 'Favourite Ballet Score', but this old thread is good, and ought to be revived, since many have joined since 2005, when last post was made.

Mine are 'Sleeping Beauty', 'La Valse' (especially as with the Balanchine, when 'Valses Nobles et Sentimentales' is included), Prokofiev's 'Romeo and Juliet' (all of it), Black Swan Music (the 'party-sounding one' that is usually used, once I noticed its absence and the whole production lost much of my respect for that omission), and 'Davisbundlertanze' (which, I must admit, is a beautiful piece whgen played alone, but much better with Balanchine dancing). Since Mel wrote 'The Pas d'Action from "Scenes de Ballet" (Glazunov), which is 'not a ballet, but should be', I'll also include 'Appalachian Spring' of Copland, which is not a ballet, but is called one anyway. Also, Tchaikovsky's 'Romeo and Juliet' when it's used, although that's not yet produced an enduring popular ballet, even though some nice ones. Also 'Emeralds' and 'Diamonds', love both of these, especially 'Diamonds', which is so noble and is only enhanced by the choreography.