UK Orchestra Celebrates 175th Birthday of Tchaikovsky
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 2, 2014) –The University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra (UKSO), under the direction of John Nardolillo, continues its 96th season this Thursday with "Ballet Music of Tchaikovsky." The free public concert, celebrating Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 175th birthday, begins 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
"Ballet Music of Tchaikovsky" will feature works from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker.” The performance of these iconic classical ballet scores will be conducted by Maestro Nardolillo.
From a wide-ranging catalogue of memorable works, Tchaikovsky’s ballets are some of the composer’s most beloved music. These scores are in full effect as an accompaniment to the stories and choreography, but they are also vibrant orchestral works in their own right.
Based on Russian folk tales of sorcery and redemption, "Swan Lake" was a collaboration between Tchaikovsky and Julius Reisinger, a choreographer for the Bolshoi Theatre. "Swan Lake" premiered in 1875, but the iconic staging of the work was produced 20 years later by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov at the Moscow Theatre.
For his second ballet, "Sleeping Beauty," Tchaikovsky went directly to Petipa, who served as the original choreographer for its premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in January 1890. The result of Tchaikovsky’s focus on this composition was a new mature style that would define the last years of his life. More successful at its premiere than "Swan Lake," "Sleeping Beauty" remains a popular choice on ballet stages throughout the world.
Tchaikovsky’s final ballet, "The Nutcracker," has become a holiday masterpiece throughout the western world. Another collaboration with Petipa and Ivanov produced at the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg—and based on the writings of German author E.T.A Hoffmann —"The Nutcracker" presents Tchaikovsky at his most masterful. This fantastical story of a young girl and a world of toys coming to life was served by Tchaikovsky’s colorful orchestrations, specifically featuring the mystical sounds of the celeste and harp. A writer for the stage as much as for the concert hall, Tchaikovsky displays his penchant for the dramatic and programmatic in this collection of ballets, which constitute lasting contribution to the repertory.
Since Nardolillo took the conductor's podium of the UKSO, it has enjoyed great success accumulating recording credits and sharing the stage with such acclaimed international artists as Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell, Marvin Hamlisch, as well the Boston Pops. In addition to its own concerts, UKSO provides accompaniment for much of the UK Opera Theatre season. UK's orchestra is one of a very select group of university orchestras under contract with Naxos, the world's largest classical recording label. To see the UKSO season brochure, visit http://finearts.uky.edu/sites/default/files/14-15_UKSO_layout.pdf.
The UK School of Music at UK College of Fine Arts has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu