Swan Lake, Suite (compiled by Gustavo Gimeno)

Program notes

About the Work

Swan Lake (1875–76) is the most beloved of all ballets, and its music is among Tchaikovsky’s greatest achievements. Yet its 1877 Moscow premiere was poorly received (critics found the score too noisy, too ‘Wagnerian’ and too symphonic), and Tchaikovsky himself later had doubts about it. Only after his death, in the 1895 St Petersburg revival by Petipa and Ivanov, did Swan Lake become the cornerstone of the classical ballet repertoire it is today. The story of Prince Siegfried, the swan-maiden Odette under the spell of the evil sorcerer Rothbart, and the deceiving ‘black swan’ Odile gave Tchaikovsky the chance to pour out a stream of unforgettable melody and to raise ballet music to genuinely symphonic heights.

Conductors have long drawn concert suites of the finest numbers from the full evening-length ballet; tonight’s selection is compiled by the evening’s conductor, Gustavo Gimeno. Such a suite gathers the ballet’s greatest hits (the haunting swan theme, the great waltz, the characterful national dances, the brilliant set pieces) into a satisfying orchestral showcase, ending the programme, and the year, in a blaze of Tchaikovskian melody and colour.

What to Listen For

Listen, above all, for the famous ‘swan’ theme: the melancholy oboe melody over rippling harp and shimmering strings that opens the ballet’s lakeside scenes and recurs as its emotional heart, representing Odette and the enchanted swans. It is one of the most instantly recognisable tunes in all music.

Beyond it, enjoy the variety a Swan Lake suite offers: the sweeping grand Waltz; the delicate, twinkling ‘Dance of the Little Swans’ (the famous four cygnets, in tripping staccato woodwinds); the brilliant character dances from around Europe (Hungarian, Spanish, Neapolitan, the swirling Mazurka); and the great dramatic set pieces with their soaring strings and blazing brass. Listen for Tchaikovsky’s matchless gift for melody and his brilliant orchestration, and for the way even dance music becomes, in his hands, music of real symphonic richness and feeling. It is a glorious, festive close to the concert.