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Mark Monahan

Dance critic Mark Monahan introduces music from the first hundred years of modern ballet, including Adam, Delibes, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky.

Dance critic Mark Monahan goes on a whistle-stop tour through the first 100 years of the ballet as we know it today, looking at the ground-breaking works that took cities such as Paris and St Petersburg by storm. He traces the history of ballets such as The Nutcracker and Swan Lake which were - surprisingly - both resounding flops when Tchaikovsky premiered them, only being rescued later by the dance-maker Marius Petipa. And he looks at the enormous influence of Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, beginning with Mikhail Fokine's 1907 ballet Chopiniana, leading to famous scores by Stravinsky and Ravel.

Image of Mark Monahan courtesy of David Rose.

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26 minutes

Last on

Sat 10 Dec 2016 13:00
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Herman Severin LΓΈvenskiold

    La Sylphide - Overture

    Orchestra: Royal Danish Orchestra. Conductor: David Garforth.
    • CHANDOS : CHAN-6546.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 1.

  • Adolphe Adam

    Giselle - Pas de Deux (Giselle and Albrecht)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas.
    • Sony Classical : SK42450.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 28.

  • LΓ©o Delibes

    Coppelia - Act I - Mazurka

    Orchestra: National Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Richard Bonynge.
    • DECCA : 4604182.
    • DECCA.
    • 4.

  • Ludwig Minkus

    La Bayadere - The Kingdom of the Shades (extract)

    Orchestra: Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: John Lanchbery.
    • EMI : 9682052.
    • EMI.
    • 14.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    The Sleeping Beauty - the Garland Waltz

    Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Neeme Järvi.
    • CHANDOS : CHSA51132.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 15.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    The Nutcracker (extract)

    Orchestra: Mariinsky Orchestra. Conductor: Valery Gergiev.
    • PHILIPS : 462-114-2.
    • PHILIPS.
    • 7.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Swan Lake - end

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas.
    • SONY : SB2K89735.
    • SONY.
    • 24.

  • FrΓ©dΓ©ric Chopin

    Les Sylphides - I Prelude, VII Waltz, VIII Waltz

    Orchestra: Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: David Zinman.
    • PHILIPS : 422 286-2.
    • PHILIPS.
    • 1.

  • Igor Stravinsky

    The Firebird (excerpt)

    Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Robert Craft.
    • Naxos : 8.557500.
    • Naxos.
    • 22.

  • Claude Debussy

    Prelude a L'Apres-Midi d'Un Faune

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan.
    • DG : 427 250-2.
    • DG.
    • 6.

  • Maurice Ravel

    Daphnis et Chloe - Opening

    Performer: Orchestre symphonique de MontrΓ©al. Conductor: Charles Dutoit.
    • Decca 400 055-2.
    • Decca.
    • 1.

  • Igor Stravinsky

    The Rite Of Spring - Sacrificial Dance (the Chosen One)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Leonard Bernstein.
    • SONY CLASSICAL : SMK60694.
    • SONY CLASSICAL.
    • 13.

  • Ottorino Respighi

    La Boutique Fantasque - Tarantella

    Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Eugene Goossens.
    • EMI CLASSICS : 0946 3 50889 2 2.
    • EMI CLASSICS.
    • 8.

  • Igor Stravinsky

    Apollo (end)

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
    • EMI : CDC 7 49636 2.
    • EMI.
    • 1.

Broadcast

  • Sat 10 Dec 2016 13:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

Podcast

  • Saturday Classics

    A view of classical music from a range of presenters; themed series and one-off programmes