Ravel: Boléro (Tabula Rasa)

Tabula Rasa, an ensemble from Saint Petersburg, Russia, performs their own rendition of Boléro, a one-movement orchestral piece by the French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Originally composed as a ballet commissioned by Russian actress and dancer Ida Rubinstein, the piece, which premiered in 1928, is Ravel’s most famous musical composition.

Manuel de Falla – El amor brujo (DRSO, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos)

Conducted by the Spanish conductor and composer Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (DRSO) performs El amor brujo, a ballet composed in 1914-1915 by Manuel de Falla to a libretto by Gregorio Martínez Sierra (6 May 1881 – 1 October 1947, the Spanish writer, poet, dramatist, and theater director).

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring [Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden]

Conducted by the Dutch violinist and conductor Jaap van Zweden, the Dutch Radio Filharmonisch Orkest (Radio Philharmonic Orchestra) performs Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” (French: Le Sacre du Printemps), a ballet and orchestral concert work, which was written for the 1913 Paris season of the Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets …

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring [hr-Sinfonieorchester, Orozco-Estrada]

Conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) performs Igor Stravinsky‘s “The Rite of Spring” (French: Le Sacre du Printemps), a ballet and orchestral concert work, which was written for the 1913 Paris season of the Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company.

Tchaikovsky: Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker Suite [Vancouver Symphony Orchestra]

Conducted by Bramwell Tove, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performs Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker Suite, a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker [Mariinsky Theatre, Gergiev]

The famous ballet in two acts, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”, from the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, December 2012. Valery Gergiev: conductor, Vasily Vainonen: choreography, Benjamin Tyrrell: stage and costumes. This successful production is recorded exclusively for EuroArts Music (see the sources). The film creates spectacular images of this great ballet production for the …

Stravinsky: The Firebird [Vienna Philharmonic & Gergiev]

Conducted by Valery Gergiev, the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) plays Russian composer Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” (French: L’oiseau de feu; Russian: Zhar-ptitsa); a ballet and orchestral concert work, written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company, with choreography by Michel Fokine. Recorded during the Salzburg Festival in 2000.

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (Full) [The Kirov Ballet, 1990]

Probably the best-loved classical ballet, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” Op. 20. It tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse. Here the naturally gifted Russian ballet dancer Yulia Makhalina dances the challenging role of Odette/Odile while the part of Prince Siegfried is danced by Igor Zelensky. …