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It's a challenge to transform the "Nutcracker Suite's" romantic orchestra into jumpin' jazz melodies, but that's exactly what Duke Ellington and his collaborator, Billy Strayhorn, did. Ellington's band memebers were not so sure that a classical ballet could become a cool-cat jazz number. But Duke and Billy, inspired by their travels and by musical styles past and present, infused the composition with Vegas glitz, Hollywood glamour, and even a little New York jazz.

Faithful to the original score, this delightful arrangement by Sergey Taneyev and the composer himself renders the entire ballet in a style both idiomatic to the piano and specially designed to be relatively easy to play.

This easy-to-play edition features Tchaikovsky's entire original suite; two extended arrangements, March and Russian Dance; plus five selections from the ballet that the composer omitted from the suite.

"For the first time, this beloved holiday story is told based on George Balanchine's quintessential production. The storyline mimics the choreography of the famous ballet and the illustrations are inspired by the backdrops and scenery from the actual New York City Ballet production"--

Each volume includes eight movements chosen and arranged for piano solo or 1 piano/4 hands by Tchaikovsky himself in 1891, adapted from his orchestral ballet. To assist pianists in creating a memorable performance, editorial notes are offered by Dr. Hinson and the story of The Nutcracker is provided as an introduction.