Once Upon A Time

Esther Birringer has chosen three great Russian ballets for her recital album. All three have great stories - drama, love and tragedy in the case of Petrushka and

Romeo & Juliet, and fantasy in The Nutcracker, which is based on a tale by ETA Hoffman. Tchaikovsky's suite from ballet was arranged for piano by Mikhail Pletnev.

Prokofiev, a superb pianist, arranged numbers from his ballet Romeo & Juliet for piano, and Stravinsky took three sections from his ballet Petrushka and created the

Three Pieces - it is a superb showcase for any pianist and makes great demands upon the performer.