Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is one of the most famous Russian composers. As a composer in the Romantic period, his music tends to be dramatic and emotional. He is most famous for his ballets, one of them being "The Nutcracker."

"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is the third movement of the second act of "The Nutcracker" ballet. The ballet choreographer, Marius Petipa wanted the music to sound like water dripping from a fountain. Tchaikovsky achieved this by featuring a brand new instrument at the time which looked like a piano but sounded like bells--the celesta. This arrangement is for clarinet in A, cello, and piano, with the original celesta part performed on the piano. The clarinet and cello parts are reductions of the original orchestral parts.