Music for the Ballet Through History

Ballet began in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century. Thanks to Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) it spread to France where it flourished under Louis XIV (1638-1715) and his court composer, Jean-Baptiste Lully. The ballet music of Tchaikovsky helped to elevate the status of the art in the last quarter of the 19th century. It got its biggest boost from Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes from 1909 to 1929 in Paris.

Delibes Coppelia

Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker

Tchaikovsky Swan Lake

Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty

Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

Stravinsky The Firbird

Stravinsky Petrushka

Stravinsky The Rite of Spring

Stravinsky Orpheus

Stravinsky Agon

Debussy Afternoon of a Faun

Ravel Daphnis & Chloe

Prokofiev The Prodigal Son

Prokofiev Cinderella

Copland Billy the Kid

Copland Appalachian Spring

Copland Rodeo