5 on Friday -- Set 248

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

Now that November has arrived, it's time for my monthly feature for 5 on Friday -- The Hit Makers.

Once a month I'm going to feature the songs that launched careers. I'll be looking at different musical styles and the groups or singers from those styles who I love the best.

This will come as no surprise to any of you -- my favorite music of all is ballet scores.

I know -- shocking, right?

Here are five of my favorite ballet composers and the scores that launched their careers in that musical form.

1 - Swan Lake main theme - composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikoksky - 1876

Main theme begins at the 1:46 mark and ends at the 3:22 mark

2 - Romeo and Juliet main theme - composed by Sergei Prokofiev - 1935 

3 - The Firebird final theme - composed by Igor Stravinsky - 1910

Final theme begins at the 37:33 mark and ends at the 40:26 mark

4 - Giselle main wilis theme - composed by Adolphe Adam - 1841

Wilis theme begins at the 6:05 mark and ends at the 8:42 mark

5 - La Bayadere's Nikia theme - composed by Ludwig Minkus - 1877

Nikia (who is the temple dancer or bayadere of the title) theme begins at the 0:00 mark and ends at the 3:13 mark

5 on Friday -- Set 241

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

I'm still in a ballet state of mind -- music from my favorite ballets has been going through my head all week as I readjust to being back in the office at my day job.

All pieces feature my favorite Russian dancer Vladimir Shklyarov from the Mariinsky Ballet.

So -- let's get seated, watch the lights go down, the curtain go up -- and on with the show.

1 - Adagio -- Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K488 from Le Parc --  composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

This lovely piece of music has definitely been going through my head this week. Mozart is mainly associated with lighter music, but I've always been a fan of his darker, more emotional pieces.

I absolutely love the 'high-flying kiss' section of this dance piece, which starts at the 6:15 mark and ends at the 7:00 mark.

2 - The Young Prince and The Young Princess from Scheherazade -- composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Another beautifully sensual pas de deux...sigh...

3 - First Galop of the Prince from Cinderella -- composed by Sergei Prokofiev

And now for something completely different. The piece I'm referring to begins at the 17:08 mark and ends at the 18:19 mark.

It's the perfect rushing-around music.

Of course, if you also wanted to check out the romantic closing pas de deux beginning at the 39:25 mark and ending at the 44:35 mark, I wouldn't discourage you. 

4 - Pas de deux from the Le Corsaire -- composed by Adolphe Adam

5 - Finale from Etudes -- composed by Carl Czerny

5 on Friday -- Set 240

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.

Just wrapping up a glorious two weeks of vacation from my day job. Had a short trip down to Yarmouth at the beginning of my time off to celebrate my mom's best friend's 80th birthday.

That's my mom, Paulette, above with my brother-in-law Newt, my sister Michelle, me and my husband Brad.

And here's the birthday boy -- Bill -- in light blue at right, with Jim, also a longtime family friend.

A great time was had by all (although we managed to refrain from getting written up in the papers.)

For the most part, I've been having a staycation and getting lots of rest, although Brad and I have been going on lots of adventures (you can check out our A For Adventure Challenge HERE.)

One thing I've been indulging in -- non-stop -- is watching ballet on You Tube. Sending out gratitude to all the people who secretly videotape live performances and then post them on You Tube (not allowed by any stretch of the imagination, as all live performances are copyrighted by the show's producers.) It used to be my job to stop people from doing just that when I worked as an usher at the performing arts theatre in Toronto. That was before the arrival of cellphone cameras.

I shouldn't be grateful to all of these people taping the footage -- but I am! I can't fly around the world at the moment to see all of these performances, so spending hours watching ballet on You Tube is the next best thing.

So, since I'm most definitely in a ballet state of mind, here are five lighthearted pieces from ballet scores that, unless you're a massive ballet freak like me, you likely haven't heard. They aren't the main musical themes, so you would need to hear the full ballet score in order to discover these. They've always been favorites of mine. 

1 - Reconnaissance from Carnaval --  composed by Robert Schumann -- performed by Manon Hutton-DeWys

Well, almost all of these have been favorites of mine for years. This one is a brand new discovery after watching the Harlequin and Columbine pas de deux (dance for two) from Carnaval during this vacation. 

2 - Diamond Fairy Variation (or solo dance) from Sleeping Beauty -- composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

3 - Morning Serenade from Romeo and Juliet -- composed by Sergei Prokofiev

4 - Andante from the Peasant Pas de Deux, Act I of Giselle -- composed by Adolphe Adam

5 - Neopolitan Dance from Act III of Swan Lake -- composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

5 on Friday - Set 102

It's a big day here at A Piece of My Mind!







Two years ago my blog friend Travis started a musical meme that he called 5 on Friday. I joined this Friday event two sets in, and have barely missed a week since. It's one of the highlights of my week.

I've met many good blog friends since then. Happy 2nd Anniversary to all of us as we keep spinning the tunes!

1 - Donauwalzer or Blue Danube - Vienna State Opera Orchestra



2 - Retour de la vendange or The Grape-Pickers' Return - Composed by Adolphe Adam, performed by the American Ballet Orchestra

The piece included for today's celebration starts at the 0:15 mark, and ends at the 2:52 mark. Giselle is danced by Carla Fracci in this clip, and Albrecht is danced by Erik Bruhn.



3 - Etudes - Composed by Carl Czerny, performed by the Royal Danish Ballet Orchestra

The section meant for today's set begins at the 5:03 mark and ends at the 7:19 mark.



4 - Firebird finale - Composed by Igor Stravinsky, Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, performed by the San Francisco Symphony



5 - Apotheosis from Sleeping Beauty - Composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky based on the pre-French Revolution national anthem Marche Henri IV, Conducted by Laurence Siegel, performed by the Radio Symphony Orchestra

5 on Friday - Set 38

Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

Continuing with Halloween Week here at A Piece of My Mind, I've collected five spooky pieces of ballet music that should send shivers up your spines.

1 - Cinderella's Waltz - Cinderella - Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra

Composed by Sergei Prokofiev



2 - Montagues and Capulets - Romeo and Juliet - Stuttgart Ballet Orchestra

Composed by Sergei Prokofiev

The main spooky theme runs till the 1:49 mark.



3 - La mort d'Hilarion (The death of Hilarion) - Giselle - Tokyo Ballet Orchestra

Composed by Adolphe Adam

Giselle is, at its heart, a ghost story. In this scene the vengeful spirits known as the Wilis (pronounced 'will-eeze') - as in, 'you're giving me the willies' - trap spurned lover Hilarion in the forest and force him to dance to death.

In the ballet, the Wilis are the spirits of young betrayed women who were denied their wedding day and died of broken hearts.



4 - The Augurs of Spring: Dances of the Young Girls - The Rite of Spring - Mariinsky Ballet Orchestra

Composed by Igor Stravinsky

The main spooky theme runs till the 1:35 mark. It definitely brings to mind John Williams' Jaws theme, which followed Stravinsky's composition 62 years later.

This particular performance is a reconstruction of the 1913 original choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. At the turn of the last century, this music and dance's modernism was so disturbing to the audience at the premiere, they literally rioted.



5 - 1st Tableau and The Enchanted Garden of Kashchei (an evil immortal who terrorizes young women) - The Firebird - Bolshoi State Academic Theater Orchestra

Composed by Igor Stravinsky

The main spooky theme runs till the 4:20 mark.