Tag Archives: Swan Lake

Nureyev’s Siegfried solo in the White Swan pas de deux

Posted on April 10, 2020 5:06 pm by Jonathan Still
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Maybe I’ve just led a sheltered ballet life, but after 30+ years of playing for more rehearsals and casts of the white swan pas de deux from Swan Lake Act II than I can remember, I was astounded the other day … Continue reading →

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Black Swan, the design of everyday things, and the extended mind

Posted on November 6, 2018 1:41 pm by Jonathan Still
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I’ve been very nervous of trying out the orchestral reduction I made in January 2015  of the Black Swan female variation for real-life principals in companies  in case I became too distracted by the unfamiliar feel of the arrangement to concentrate on … Continue reading →

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Confessions of an anxious ballet pianist day #6: Playing the Black Swan variation music

Posted on December 6, 2014 8:02 am by Jonathan Still
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The music that is harder to find than a black swan Let’s start with a few facts. Although this solo, and the Black Swan pas de deux that it comes from, is one of the most famous bits of the most famous … Continue reading →

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Confessions of an anxious ballet pianist day #5: Playing for the White Swan variation

Posted on December 5, 2014 7:48 am by Jonathan Still
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I’ve already written an entire recent post about one problem with accompanying this variation (The perils of musicality when you’re accompanying a ballet solo) but that’s not the end of the story.  Oh no. For only a day or so later that … Continue reading →

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