Liebeslieder Walzer

Liebeslieder, Op. 52 (1869) and Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65 (1874) by Johannes Brahms Choreography George Balanchine

For this two-part ballet of waltzes for piano duet and vocal quartet set to poems by Friedrich Daumer and one, the last, set to a poem by Goethe, the dancers are joined on stage by the musicians and singers. All are dressed in period ballroom costumes. During the first set of 18 waltzes the four couples dance in interweaving combinations in an intimate, elegantly-appointed ballroom.

For these dances, the women wear dancing slippers. After a brief lowering of the curtain, the couples return to dance 14 waltzes, the women wearing ballet dresses and toe shoes. They leave the stage; returning in their original costumes, then pause to listen to the final waltz set to Goethe's words: "Now, Muses, enough! You try in vain to portray how misery and happiness alternate in a loving heart!"

Within the strict three-quarter beat personal and romantic associations between the couples are developed. Of Liebeslieder Walzer, Balanchine said: "In the first act, it is the real people who are dancing. In the second act, it is their souls."

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was born in Hamburg, Germany, and became popular as a pianist and conductor. Though living in the days of the romantic composers, his own work was always in the classical mold. He composed almost exclusively instrumental music, including four symphonies, concertos, and a wide variety of chamber music.

(Average Length Part One 26 min.Part Two 23 min.)

Les Noces

Les Noces (1923) by Igor Stravinsky
Choreography Jerome Robbins
Stravinsky music, a dramatic cantata, was first used in a ballet by Bronislava Nijinska, in a work created for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), born in Russia, is acknowledged as one of the great composers of the twentieth century. His work encompassed styles as diverse as Romanticism, Neoclassicism and Serialism. His ballets for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes included The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite Of Spring, and Apollo. His music has been used in over thirty ballets originating with New York City Ballet from 1948 through 1987, including Danses Concertantes, Orpheus, The Cage, Agon, Monumentum pro Gesualdo, Rubies, Symphony in Three Movements, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Concerto for Two Solo Pianos, Suite from L'histoire du Soldat, Concertino, and Jeu De Cartes.

(Average Length 23 min.)