Episode 97: Hear the Dance: Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2

This week’s episode is a special Hear the Dance reunion: former NYCB Dancer Silas Farley hosts a wide-ranging conversation between legendary former Principal Dancer Merrill Ashley and current Principal Dancer Tiler Peck on George Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2. As Peck shares, her first exposure to this daunting lead role was in a coaching session with Ashley, long before it became a mainstay in her repertory. Ashley describes the thrilling challenge of taking it on as a new-to-the-Company corps member, when the work was still referred to as Ballet Imperial, and the manner in which the ballet requires both stamina and style: “…the spirit is there. You’re the princess, the queen, and everyone else is your court.” (1:00:38)

Written by Silas Farley Edited by Gus Reed

READING LIST: Repertory in Review: 40 Years of the New York City Ballet by Nancy Reynolds Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky by Solomon Volkov Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century by Jennifer Homans Dancing for Balanchine by Merrill Ashley Tchaikovsky: A Biography by Anthony Holden

MUSIC: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky Piano Concerto No. 2 in G, Op. 44 (1879-80) by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 75 (1892) by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra