Sheet Music: Final Waltz and Apotheosis

TitleFinal Waltz and Apotheosis
from The Nutcracker
Alternate titlesValse finale et apothéose
Opus numberOp. 71
ComposerPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
InstrumentationFlute solo
KeyB-flat major
RangeD4–C7
Time signature3/4
Tempo68 BPM
Performance time4:55
Difficulty levelintermediate
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (112 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (2.4 MB)
Date added2010-07-07
Last updated2010-07-07
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 3.2 (popular)
Categories
Ballet excerpts, Romantic, Show-off pieces

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Wednesday 7 July 2010

Tune of the Day: Final Waltz and Apotheosis

from “The Nutcracker” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

This is the very last number that Tchaikovsky wrote for his famous two-act ballet The Nutcracker.

During the past century, The Nutcracker has been subjected to many radically different reinterpretations of the story. Several productions of the work greatly change the ending of the ballet, but according to Roland John Wiley's Tchaikovsky's Ballets, the original libretto included the following description: “The apotheosis represents a large beehive with flying bees, closely guarding their riches.” Eight students from the Imperial Ballet School represented bees. We don't know what action, if any, was carried out in this scene; the apotheosis is not included in the early 20th-century choreographic notation of the ballet. Possibly, the scene was included as a nod to the Tsar, as bees traditionally represent prosperity. Ballets of this period sometimes included apotheosis scenes that seem to us unrelated, at least directly, to the ballet's plot.

Other Movements from the same Work

Journey Through the Snow Flute solo
Mother Gigogne Flute solo
Pas de deux Flute solo
Spanish Dance Flute solo
Tarantella Flute solo