Par TCHAIKOVSKI PIOTR ILITCH. The Nutcracker Suite is a piano arrangement of the concert version of the ballet of that name. Tchaikovsky used only part of the music for the ballet in the suite. The Overture, and the March which is the most important of the characteristic dances in the Suite, come from the first act of the ballet. The remaining dances originate from the second act. They are: The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, in which the leading part is, in the original composition, played typically by the celeste almost all the way through; the fiery Russian 'Trepak' which reminds us of Tchaikovsky's national origins; the Arab Dance tinged with a gentle melancholy; the Chinese Dance with its tripping ostinato rhythm; the graceful Dance of the Reed Flutes; and finally the longest piece in the Suite: the Waltz of the Flowers in which Tchaikovsky, writing in the penultimate year of his life, showed his musical affinity with Johann Strauss. The Nutcracker Suite was perfomed for the first time, with great success, on 7 March 1892 at the Ninth Symphony Concert of the Russian Musical Society in St Petersburg./ Répertoire / Piano 4 Mains

A Creative and Interactive Piano Course For Children-What is Piano Junior?Piano Junior is a superb piano course for beginners. It's creative it's interactive it's colourful it has its own website with additional online material ? and most importantly it really works! Its characters PJ the friendly robot and his sidekick Mozart the dog motivate and encourage children throughout each level. The course is available as core Lesson Books along with supplementary Theory Duet and Performance Books at each stage. Who is Piano Junior for?Suitable for children from around the age of 6 Piano Junior takes young students on their first steps and prepares them with a solid foundation for earlygrades. A method for the digital ageTeachers parents and students can visit www.piano-junior.com [1] for demonstration videos and recordings along with a host of other free downloadable resources which really bring practice sessions at home to life! PIANO JUNIOR - press reviews 'The careful introduction of all aspects of music notation is a standout feature of these books and to my mind Heumann has provided one of the best child-friendly introductions to reading music that I have seen... Piano Junior has in many respects raised the bar in some ways perhaps even setting a new standard by which piano courses for children will be judged.' - PIANODAO.COM Links:------[1] http://www.piano-junior.com