Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky

The Harmonie Ensemble New York plays Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, as well as the Nutcracker of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

It is Christmas eve and Clara and Fritz's parents are throwing their annual holiday party. The mysterious guest, the toymaker Herr Drosselmeyer, arrives with life-size dancing dolls to entertain the family and their guests, but he saves his most special gift for his god-daughter Clara, a nutcracker doll. That night, the tree begins to grow, the toy soldiers and the Mouse King have a battle, and Clara's nutcracker turns into a handsome prince! This...

"Introduce little ones to the beautiful art of ballet with this classic story. Share in the magic and fantasy of Tchaikovsky's beloved Swan Lake: meet the gallant prince, evil sorcerer, and beautiful girls under a terrible spell. My First Ballet Books encourage babies to Be Creative, Be Active, and Be Brilliant through the classic art of ballet."--Amazon.com

From an imperial-era Russian Christmas party, a young girl named Clara is whisked in her dreams to an imaginary world populated by the animated creations of the wizard toy maker Drosselmeier. Clara innocently develops a crush on the imaginary Nutcracker prince. Upon her arrival in the Land of the Sweets, she dances a yearning pas de deux with the Nutcracker Prince. It makes the ballet far more interesting. The frequent involvement of Drosselmeyer...