Fairy Tale Lore of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Waltz
The Best Moments

I start the Sleeping Beauty Waltz with a grand orchestral introduction that acts like a butler clearing his throat at the door so everyone at Princess Aurora's sixteenth birthday party stops talking and gets ready to dance. Once everyone is paying attention, the strings sweep in with the main melody in three-quarter time, swaying along so smoothly that even a guest with two left feet would feel ready to join the villagers with their floral garlands.

In the middle section of the piece, I give that big sweeping tune a short rest and let the music turn lighter and more playful, as if the dancers are catching their breath while trading a bit of party gossip. I sprinkled in bright touches from instruments like the glockenspiel and flutes here so the whole orchestra sparkles without anyone having to work up too much of a sweat.

I bring back the main melody one last time and then launch into a lively closing section, where the brass and percussion join in like hosts Determined to make sure nobody falls asleep before the fairy tale actually requires it. Even though Tsar Alexander III only told me the ballet was very nice at the dress rehearsal, I ended those two hundred and ninety-seven bars with a joyful bang that left the Saint Petersburg audience cheering.