"Swan Lake" and "The Sleeping Beauty": Suites from the Ballets in Full Score (Dover Music Scores) [Paperback]

Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (Author), Music Scores (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Music Scores | Publication Date: July 10, 1997

More than a century after the debuts of these classic ballets, audiences thrill to their captivating melodies, magnificent orchestration, and romantic atmosphere. This convenient compilation features the full scores of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, reprinted from authoritative editions. Instrumentation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486298892
• ISBN-13: 978-0486298894
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Tchaikovsky
  • #65 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Ballet

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful melodies - long flowing lines, January 25, 2001

By 

George R. Park (Allen, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: "Swan Lake" and "The Sleeping Beauty": Suites from the Ballets in Full Score (Dover Music Scores) (Paperback)

As always, Tchaikovsky's finely crafted melodies flow from the page. The binding and print are easy to read and the paper is designed to last. Watching the notes dance across the page brings to mind the twirling ballerinas and wonderful stories that underlie these two masterpieces.

The Only regret that you'll have regarding this issue is that there is not a complete score out for either of these two monuments of the ballet world.

5.0 out of 5 stars Ballets by Tchaikovsky Full Orchestral scores, November 30, 2009

By 

Robert Szuch (Burbank) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: "Swan Lake" and "The Sleeping Beauty": Suites from the Ballets in Full Score (Dover Music Scores) (Paperback)

Dover Publications prints the clearest, easiest to read music scores available to the public. They can also be used by conductors at any level of performance and for study in music schools. This score is an excellent example.

5.0 out of 5 stars Two great ballet suites in one book., March 22, 2009

By 

Jorge Bennett Limnio, composer. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: "Swan Lake" and "The Sleeping Beauty": Suites from the Ballets in Full Score (Dover Music Scores) (Paperback)

Well, these Dover editions have always been a good choice for music teachers and composers who don't want to spend on an expensive book, but who would like to have these scores available for reference and orchestration technique analysis. The covers are always handsome, and the books will stay in good condition if treated with care.

In my case, I was especially interested in how Tchaikovsky orchestrated the overture to the sleeping beauty, which has always seemed to me as an overture of surpassing dramatic power combined with a wonderful epic, fairy tale like atmosphere, foreshadowing scenes to come. I was surprised by some details I discovered when I finally had the score in my hands, like the way Tchaikovsky added two cornets to the brass section, in addition to the usual two trumpets, and the spectacular crashing sound in the middle is not a gong (as I thought) but a "tam tam", played very loudly. That is the part where the evil fairy arrives into the castle, but Tchaikovsky put such a strength into this moment that it would be easy to picture mighty dragons descending into the hall, instead of just one evil witch (no matter how evil).

These books contains some of the best moments of both ballets, so it is an excellent introduction into these work's orchestration. If I wanted a complete Tchaikovsky ballet, I would rather choose the nutcracker, and indeed I did (Dover has a complete print of this one). I don't care what anybody says on the subject, I'm convinced The Nutcracker is the best of the three. But there is no denying that Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty have many great musical moments, impossible to ignore.