The Sleeping Beauty: Suite from the Ballet, Op. 66a [Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works]

The Sleeping Beauty ballet in 3 acts, which tells the story of conflicting forces of good and evil, incorporates various fairy-tale characters from the Brothers Grimm and French fairy tales. Tchaikovsky's (1840-1893) longest ballet, the work was met with a favorable response following the January 15th, 1890, premiere at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, but the composer would not live to see the work become the mainstay of the ballet repertoire that it has enjoyed for over one hundred years. The suite, which includes five movements (1. Introduction et La Fee des Lilas, 2. Pas d'Action, 3. Pas de Caractere, 4. Panorama, 5. Valse) was an idea that Tchaikovsky considered in February of 1890. However, unable to settle on which sections to include, the composer rejected the idea for himself, preferring to have each individual number released in succession. Following his death, this five-movement suite (Op. 66a) was released from the publisher Jurgenson, likely edited by Aleksandr Ziloti. This this version has been edited and reengraved by Carl Simpson. Instrumentation: 2+Picc.2+EH.2.2: 4.2+2Crnt.3.1: Timp.Perc(2): Hp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).