Rare and exciting Christmas treat: Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s jazz arrangement of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, The Nutcracker.

The Nutcracker counts among Tchaikovsky’s (1840–1893) most famous and acclaimed ballets. The piece draws upon E.T.A. Hoffman’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, set on Christmas night. The ballet was premiered in December 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, and in 1960 Ellington and Strayhorn arranged and recorded their own interpretation of the beloved piece.

The concert program is complemented by jazzy arrangements of Christmas classics.

Conductor: Ed Partyka.

Duration c. 75 min, no intermission.

Photo: Trumpeters Timo Paasonen, Teemu Mattsson, Mikko Pettinen, Tero Saarti and bassist Vesa Ojaniemi by Olli Nurmi