The Nutcracker Concert Essay

I write this review an hour after watching the DVD of the, Saturday December 12, 2015 performance of The Nutcracker that I had the privilege of attending with my family over the holidays. The performance was held at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Andrew Jackson Hall, in Nashville, TN.

I remember the lobby between the theater and the hall was very spacious, we found our seats to the left aisle in the middle of the theater with no hindrance. Paul Vasterling, Artistic Director, who is the visionary that re interpreted this great performance that is more accurately referred to as, Nashville’s Nutcracker, here in Music City.

In the Orchestra pit was none other than Nashville’s very own, the Nashville Symphony. Martin West, conductor for

One part that really stood out was the featured scene “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” you could hear many combinations of the woodwind instruments. It created a fantasy filled environment from the sounds of the instruments.

This great musical not only gives you the visual effect of watching the performers dance but the mixture of music makes it that more extraordinary. The scene “A Pine Forest Winter” is just one of the scenes that features string instruments, violins, cello and double bass with a climax of brass instruments, trumpet, tuba and trombone and the percussion instruments, bass drum, timpani and celesta.

While the visual performance was changed to depict the director’s vision of implementing visual effects of the geographical surroundings of Nashville, the basic elements of the music remained unchanged. It was still timeless and elegant as if Tchaikovsky had just written it and the scenes were being performed musically for the very first time.

Watching this beautiful performance for a second time, just brought the music more to life. You could feel the magic in each scene through the sounds of the instruments. Hearing the music with full symphony puts you in another realm. The melodies so memorable, and enjoyable harmonies made for a state of the art musical