May 16, 2022
In this special episode of See the Music recorded live at our Lincoln Center theater, NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton dives into the history of the Felix Mendelssohn score for Balanchine's enchanted ballet A Midsummer Night's Dream. Litton shares excerpts from the music—written 173 years ago, when Mendelssohn was...
May 2, 2022
Associate Music Director Andrews Sill voyages into the beguiling score of George Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky's Orpheus in the latest See the Music episode. As Stravinsky describes, in a 1949 radio interview, Orpheus is a "long, sustained, slow chant," that utilizes ancient modes and inspirations without directly...
Feb 14, 2022
In this episode of See the Music, NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton dives into the history and particular genius of Tchaikovsky’s treasured Swan Lake score. Joined by NYCB Concertmaster Kurt Nikkanen on the violin, Litton demonstrates the use of specific instruments and musical motifs to portray the characters of...
Oct 11, 2021
In this new See the Music episode, host and NYCB Orchestra Music Director Andrew Litton leads us through the history and multi-faceted movements of the music for George Balanchine's La Valse. Choreographed in 1951, the score combines two of Maurice Ravel's compositions: Valses Nobles et Sentimentales and La...
Mar 1, 2021
NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton hosts a new See the Music edition of City Ballet The Podcast, exploring the score to Balanchine’s ode to classical dance, Theme and Variations. Set to the final, eponymous movement of Tschaikovsky’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, the ballet, as Litton describes, corresponds to the...