A winning collection of Nutcracker selections arranged for piano!

An inquiry at the Facebook Art of Piano Pedagogy forum drew my immediate attention. A supermom pianist/teacher and mentor to her grandson, was eager to feast the youngster on Nutcracker delights and wanted some guidance. She had noted the child's enthusiasm to notch himself into a challenging musical arena, so why not recommend a colorful…

Nutcracker Suite, “Russian Dance,” with piano intro to an orchestrated gymnastics exhibition

This is a collaborative effort, but just a snatch. I introduce Tschaikovsky's "Russian Dance" on the piano, (a tad behind tempo) as prelude to an orchestrated accompaniment to Olympian gymnasts swinging from high bars, doing back flips and straddle jumps, slipping, falling, rebounding, and re-mounting the balance beam. It's a riveting choreography, synchronized to the…