Similar to many of his other works, The Nutcracker ballet of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was not initially successful and only entered into the standard repertoire many decades following its premiere. Despite this, the music of the Nutcracker was well-received from the start and is frequently performed as a suite. The final movement of this suite is the beloved Waltz of the Flowers, a beautiful piece that is familiar to all. It wasn't until the 1950s and 60s that the full ballet came back into fashion and it is now the most frequently performed ballet in the world.

Instrumentation:

• 6 C Flutes (Flute 2 doubles on Piccolo)
• 2 Alto Flutes
• Bass Flute
• Contrabass Flute