Ballet Suite "The Nutcracker" [Saxophone Quartet]

《The Nutcracker Suite (French: Suite tirée du Ballet "Casse-Noisette", Op.71a)》 is one of Tchaikovsky's representative orchestral works. "Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty", and "The Nutcracker" are sometimes referred to as the three great ballets.
This work tells the story of a girl who receives a nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve and travels with the doll to a dream world.


1st movement: Overture Miniature Allegro giusto, B-flat major, 2/4 time. The original piece begins with a light string ensemble and gradually builds up. In the saxophone quartet version, lightness and changes in timbre are expressed by shortening and passing phrases. 

Character Dances
2nd movement: March Tempo di marcia viva, G major, 4/4 time. This piece features the woodwinds, brass, and strings taking turns with the melody, and we hope you enjoy how the roles are handed over in the saxophone quartet arrangement.
3rd movement: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Andante non troppo, E minor, 2/4 time. The original piece uses the celesta, which was only invented in 1886. This piece helped make the celesta known worldwide.

4th movement: Russian Dance (Trepak) Tempo di Trepak, molto vivace, G major, 2/4 time. This is a lively piece with an interesting contrast between the melodies of the high and low instruments. 

5th movement: Arabian Dance Allegretto, G minor, 3/8 time. A piece with an oriental atmosphere. In the saxophone quartet version, an attempt has been made to reproduce the atmosphere of the original by utilizing the low notes of the soprano saxophone. 

6th movement: Chinese Dance Allegro moderato, B-flat major, 4/4 time. In the original, the flute melody is distinctive. However, the accompaniment that supports that melody is also important, and ingenuity has been applied to reproduce it just like the original.
7th movement: Dance of the Reed Flutes Moderato assai, D major, 2/4 time. The "reed flute" refers to the mirliton (panpipes), and the flute plays an active role in the original. Even in the saxophone quartet, you can enjoy the light music.
8th movement: Waltz of the Flowers Tempo di valse, D major, 3/4 time. The opening, which is played by woodwinds and horns in the original, is a rich tutti by the saxophone quartet, so I think the impression is quite different. This piece is arranged for saxophone quartet throughout, not confined to the original orchestration. Tchaikovsky loved the works of Johann Strauss II, and this piece follows Strauss II's style.