Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker 

Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet The Nutcracker delights with rich melodies and shimmers with magnificent color, making each of its episodes—particularly the famous sequence of national dances—brilliantly characterized and absolutely irresistible. Tchaikovsky even introduced a secret weapon, which he hid from his rival Rimsky-Korsakov, into the score: In the delicate “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” he uses the celesta, a keyboard instrument with a glockenspiel-like tone, to weave an unforgettable magical spell.