Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Experience the magic of ballet reimagined for piano in Ekaterina Litvintseva’s dazzling new album. From Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet to Stravinsky’s Firebird and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, these iconic scores come alive in virtuosic transcriptions full of color and drama. Check out the related video to listen to the album!
💎 Purchase, stream or download (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Presto): pianoclassics.lnk.to/IconicBalletOnPianoID
🎬 These tracks are available for sync licensing in videos, films, TV shows, games, advertising, and more. For licensing inquiries: info@brilliantclassicslicensing.com
Composer: Igor Stravinsky, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Léo Delibes, Jean Philippe Rameau & Jean Baptiste Lully
Artist: Ekaterina Litvintseva (piano)
The piano dances: new recordings of ballet classics in sparkling keyboard arrangements.
Born in Russia, living and working in Germany, Ekaterina Litvintseva has made a string of critically acclaimed recordings for Piano Classics, featuring the music of Chopin, Rachmaninoff and more. On her latest album, she turns to a trio of ballet scores which have always captivated audiences for the particular genius of their marriage between story and music.
She opens with Prokofiev’s own arrangement of 10 pieces from Romeo and Juliet, followed by Guido Agosti’s arrangement of the Suite from Stravinsky’s Firebird, and Mikhail Pletnev’s virtuoso transcription of dances from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. As in any popular recital, there are three encores: a waltz from Delibes’ Coppélia (arranged by Erno Dohnanyi), Les Sauvages by Rameau, and finally another foot-tapping dance from the French Baroque, extracted from an opera by Lully.
In these transcriptions, the pianist becomes more than just a substitute for the orchestra; she takes the role of a storyteller and a conduit for the expression of the ballet. The reduction of forces brings a more intense focus on the melodic lines, the harmonic progressions and the rhythmic subtleties of the music. Prokofiev chose to recompose and distil the essence of pivotal moments in Romeo and Juliet rather than making straightforward arrangements.
In their own ways, Agosti and Pletnev also demonstrate that the essence of ballet can be captured and reimagined in the hands of a skilled pianist. While their versions of Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky have become crowd-pleasing pianistic tours de force in their own right, they also retain the elegance and the fundamental pulse of the original dances.
‘The 30-something Ekaterina Litvintseva has been amassing a distinguished discography, and this… is a fine addition, exhibiting the combination of sensitivity and self-assurance that have marked her playing up until now… you owe it to yourself to make the acquaintance of Dora Pejačević.’ (Fanfare, reviewing PCL10226)
Tracklist:
Prokofiev: 10 Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 75:
0:00:00 I. Folk Dance
0:04:11 II. Scene (The Street Awakens)
0:05:28 III. Minuet (Arrival of the Guests)
0:08:21 IV. Juliet as a Young Girl
0:11:35 V. Masquers
0:13:48 VI. Montagues and Capulets
0:17:20 VII. Friar Laurence
0:19:23 VIII. Mercutio
0:21:25 IX. Dance of the Girls with Lilies
0:23:34 X. Romeo and Juliet before Parting
0:30:30 Delibes: Valse Lente from the opera Coppélia (arr. for Piano by E. Dohnanyi)
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a (Arr. for Piano by Mikhail Pletnev):
0:37:13 I. March. Tempo di marcia viva
0:39:13 II. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Andante ma non troppo
0:41:13 III. Tarantella
0:42:31 IV. Intermezzo. Andante
0:46:47 V. Trepak (Russian dance). Molto vivace
0:48:08 VI. Tea (Chinese dance). Allegro moderato
0:49:33 VII. Andante maestoso
0:55:15 Rameau: Les sauvages
Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite, K010 (Arr. for Piano by Guido Agosti):
0:57:07 I. Danse infernale
1:02:12 II. Berceuse
1:06:07 III. Finale
1:09:41 Lully: Gavotte and Rondeau from the Oper "The Flames of Paris"
📲 Follow us on Social media: @BrilliantClassics & @PianoClassics
#Ballet #Music #Piano #Stravisnky #RomeoAndJuliet #Tchaikovsky #NutcrackerSuite #Prokofiev #FirebirdSuite #ClassicalPiano #PianoSolo #Instrumental #PianoClassics #BrilliantClassics
Experience the magic of ballet reimagined for piano in Ekaterina Litvintseva’s dazzling new album. From Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet to Stravinsky’s Firebird and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, these iconic scores come alive in virtuosic transcriptions full of color and drama. Check out the related video to listen to the album!
💎 Purchase, stream or download (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Presto): pianoclassics.lnk.to/IconicBalletOnPianoID
🎬 These tracks are available for sync licensing in videos, films, TV shows, games, advertising, and more. For licensing inquiries: info@brilliantclassicslicensing.com
Composer: Igor Stravinsky, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Léo Delibes, Jean Philippe Rameau & Jean Baptiste Lully
Artist: Ekaterina Litvintseva (piano)
The piano dances: new recordings of ballet classics in sparkling keyboard arrangements.
Born in Russia, living and working in Germany, Ekaterina Litvintseva has made a string of critically acclaimed recordings for Piano Classics, featuring the music of Chopin, Rachmaninoff and more. On her latest album, she turns to a trio of ballet scores which have always captivated audiences for the particular genius of their marriage between story and music.
She opens with Prokofiev’s own arrangement of 10 pieces from Romeo and Juliet, followed by Guido Agosti’s arrangement of the Suite from Stravinsky’s Firebird, and Mikhail Pletnev’s virtuoso transcription of dances from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. As in any popular recital, there are three encores: a waltz from Delibes’ Coppélia (arranged by Erno Dohnanyi), Les Sauvages by Rameau, and finally another foot-tapping dance from the French Baroque, extracted from an opera by Lully.
In these transcriptions, the pianist becomes more than just a substitute for the orchestra; she takes the role of a storyteller and a conduit for the expression of the ballet. The reduction of forces brings a more intense focus on the melodic lines, the harmonic progressions and the rhythmic subtleties of the music. Prokofiev chose to recompose and distil the essence of pivotal moments in Romeo and Juliet rather than making straightforward arrangements.
In their own ways, Agosti and Pletnev also demonstrate that the essence of ballet can be captured and reimagined in the hands of a skilled pianist. While their versions of Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky have become crowd-pleasing pianistic tours de force in their own right, they also retain the elegance and the fundamental pulse of the original dances.
‘The 30-something Ekaterina Litvintseva has been amassing a distinguished discography, and this… is a fine addition, exhibiting the combination of sensitivity and self-assurance that have marked her playing up until now… you owe it to yourself to make the acquaintance of Dora Pejačević.’ (Fanfare, reviewing PCL10226)
Tracklist:
Prokofiev: 10 Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 75:
0:00:00 I. Folk Dance
0:04:11 II. Scene (The Street Awakens)
0:05:28 III. Minuet (Arrival of the Guests)
0:08:21 IV. Juliet as a Young Girl
0:11:35 V. Masquers
0:13:48 VI. Montagues and Capulets
0:17:20 VII. Friar Laurence
0:19:23 VIII. Mercutio
0:21:25 IX. Dance of the Girls with Lilies
0:23:34 X. Romeo and Juliet before Parting
0:30:30 Delibes: Valse Lente from the opera Coppélia (arr. for Piano by E. Dohnanyi)
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a (Arr. for Piano by Mikhail Pletnev):
0:37:13 I. March. Tempo di marcia viva
0:39:13 II. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Andante ma non troppo
0:41:13 III. Tarantella
0:42:31 IV. Intermezzo. Andante
0:46:47 V. Trepak (Russian dance). Molto vivace
0:48:08 VI. Tea (Chinese dance). Allegro moderato
0:49:33 VII. Andante maestoso
0:55:15 Rameau: Les sauvages
Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite, K010 (Arr. for Piano by Guido Agosti):
0:57:07 I. Danse infernale
1:02:12 II. Berceuse
1:06:07 III. Finale
1:09:41 Lully: Gavotte and Rondeau from the Oper "The Flames of Paris"
📲 Follow us on Social media: @BrilliantClassics & @PianoClassics
#Ballet #Music #Piano #Stravisnky #RomeoAndJuliet #Tchaikovsky #NutcrackerSuite #Prokofiev #FirebirdSuite #ClassicalPiano #PianoSolo #Instrumental #PianoClassics #BrilliantClassics
