Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Ballet


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Omnipresent at Christmastime, The Nutcracker is on every Ballet Orchestra audition. Nearly unavoidable for any working musician, it is, fortunately, a masterpiece, fun to play, and has a LOT for the clarinets - exhausting even. There are fairly big differences in editions and various companies my change the order of movements.

The "toy" Overture has a deceptively tricky passage right at the top, that gets harder the faster the conductor wants to go. Make sure to put a little tenuto on the first note of the slur so as not to compress the first two notes. The first scene is one of many big clarinet parts, beginning at pickups to 12. It's important to play the exact number of "written out trills." In the 7s, you can stretch the first note to make it more elegant, but the 5s usually go too fast for that. It's basically the same thing four times, and I like to do the occasional echo on the second of each pair of iterations. Be careful of conductor rubato, which happens often, and don't be late on the stringendo. 16 is challenging and must be well in hand for any changes the conductor needs to make on the fly.

I find "big" No. 3, Petit Galop too difficult in this key, so I transpose it. 35 is tricky and tough to not sound harsh. Play a little longer staccato than you ordinarily would and that should help. After 66, play the high F soft and immediately crescendo to avoid an unwanted explosion. 67 is awkward so practice lots! It's easy for all clarinets to get lost in big No. 7 - count carefully and cue your part. Have your voicing down for ff low notes to avoid an embarrassing squawk at the end. Big No. 9, Valse des flocons de neige, is so easy to get off rhythmically. Stay with the Flutes no matter what. Practice with your metronome on dotted-quarter-notes, and internalize the hemiola. 96 is particularly hard for the Bass Clarinet. The sixteenth-notes in the first clarinet after 108 are very hard to play fast and non-shriekingly. If you have a relatively in tune 3rd-partial fingering for E-flat, like the same as throat B-flat, use it.

Big No. 11 is on auditions, and can be tricky, also for the second clarinet. The first entrance, at 9, is awkward because of the two B-flats. Don't make it sound that way. The next passage may contain the fastest chromatic scale you've ever played - be ready. 10 gets even faster, and the first arpeggio is awkward. Subdivide the 9 in your head as three triplets of triplets to make it easier to feel and count. I recommend the "1-and-1" fingering for the low E-flat in the subsequent arpeggios, and you can even leave the right-hand first finger down for most of the passage.

No. 12 begins with Le Chocolat and a fun short solo for clarinet and bass clarinet. Enjoy it, and play stylized rhythms and accents to make it even more fun for the audience. Everyone knows Le Cafe from the suites (and Disney), but the accents may surprise you. I think they're better executed as hairpins and not sharp slaps, including the one with the quintuplet - play one bar diminuendo instead. Learn to circular breathe for Le The or coordinate where to drop out with the rest of the woodwinds. Trepak is fun, and be sure to leave your right hand down for easier break crossing. The Danse de la Fee-Dragee gets moved around in various editions, appearing near the beginning or end of Act II. Be sure to play the first entrance, on either clarinet, as marked mf, fp, and crescendo so you can make an emotional and dynamic echo for the second.

The Valse des fleurs has a wonderful solo. Crescendo the first four notes, stretch the next downbeat a bit and diminuendo. Repeat, and then spin on through the longer phrase, peaking at the throat A, then diminuendo. You can stretch the G, making a fun deflation on the notes that follow. Same inflection at 54 but within a longer and larger crescendo which goes on even after your final note. Big No. 15 is fast and tricky. I know some who transposes the passage at 91.

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