Renee Montagne talks with Miles Hoffman about the history of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite. Hoffman is the violist of the American Chamber Players, and authored The NPR Classical Music Companion.

As temperatures descend, something inevitable is in the air. The time of year has arrived for productions of "The Nutcracker" to proliferate around the globe. Prepare for an onslaught of rising ...

Purchase this and other timeless New Criterion essays in our hard-copy reprint series. In many ways Wiley’s book is a revisionist history. The traditional view, especially prevalent among musicians, ...

Chances are you don’t know a fouetté from a chaîné, but it’s likely that you’ve seen these classical ballet steps performed to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky–and can recognize the tunes. The ...

It’s impossible to imagine the Christmas season without “The Nutcracker,” a beloved ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Written in 1892, this two-act classical ballet remains a symbol of the holiday ...

Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker is a magical musical journey to the land where all good dreams come true. Ever child-like in his fascination with an exotic idea or an unusual sound, Tchaikovsky ...

Swan Lake Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer Vasily Petrenko, Conductor Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (The) Sleeping Beauty Vasily Petrenko, Conductor Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer Royal ...

Members of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in a production of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker." It’s a perennial holiday favorite but it took a long time to grow into a classic. The United States was ...

Growing up as an avid violinist, Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings was one of my favorite and most rewarding pieces to play. The fact that it was a staple in the repertoire of the New York City ...

An all-Tchaikovsky ballet program: In concept, who can quarrel? But what looked good on paper proved somewhat flat in execution when the New York City Ballet opened its six-day series at the Kennedy ...