It's hard to believe today that the music for Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker was initially met with unfavourable reception. After its premiere in 1892, the composer noted: The newspapers, as is their custom, thoroughly criticised me. It's an undisputed classical music masterpiece, captivating with its rich instrumentation (including the use of the celesta), refined chamber ensembles, and extraordinary sense of humour as The Nutcracker is a fairy tale about the battle between the titular Nutcracker and the Mouse King and a magical journey to the land of the sweets. And since all of this occurs on Christmas Eve, there's no better opportunity to listen to this extraordinary music than at a pre-Christmas concert.
During the concert, we'll also hear the most famous work of British composer Victor Hely-Hutchinson, the Carol Symphony from 1927. The piece consists of four movements played without interruption, each based on a different famous carol.
The concert will conclude with Three Holiday Songs from the film Home Alone, for which John Williams – one of the greatest composers of film music in cinema history – composed the music. In this context, the music isn't just background for the events on the screen; it's more like one of the characters. We have a whole range of emotions associated with the adventures of the famous Kevin, plenty of excellent humour, and, above all, melodies that evoke the mood and spirit of Christmas.
Excerpt from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle:
Three Holiday Songs from Home Alone by John Williams performed by the Carnegie Mellon University Chorus and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic conducted by Daniel Nesta Curtis:
