About This Song
About "The Nutcracker, Op. 71, TH 14, Act II: Pas de deux" by Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra
Mravinsky draws sugar and shadow from Tchaikovsky's pas de deux, the celesta's twinkle offset by a low, aching brass. The dance becomes a miniature drama: a ballerina's spin, a prince's hesitation, the whole auditorium holding its breath. Sweetness never felt so precarious.