Swan Lake, Op. 20: Act I, No. 5: Pas de Deux (Black Swan) [McDermott]: Full Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

This is the showpiece that demands your orchestra's best: the Black Swan Pas de Deux arrives fully formed and uncompromising, with a keyboard virtuoso and a principal dancer who must lock into conversation at the highest level. McDermott's edition from the authoritative Iordan/Kirkor score gives you clarity and historically informed orchestration (including the cornets and harp that anchor the original sound), and the hand-engraved parts are a pleasure to read under pressure. Programming this signals that your orchestra has arrived at the repertoire that matters.

The Black Swan Pas de Deux radiates dark, glittering virtuosity. The keyboard sparkles with rapid figuration while the orchestra swells with dramatic gestures, creating an atmosphere of seductive danger; beneath the technical display lies Tchaikovsky's gift for balancing elegance with theatrical intensity. This is music that asks the orchestra to both support and celebrate technical display, shifting between moments of ornate delicacy and broad, sweeping passion.

This edition serves orchestras with strong keyboard and string sections capable of executing the technically demanding solo part with clarity and artistry. Conductors working with ballet companies, dance departments, or orchestras preparing standalone concert performances of this iconic work will find McDermott's score and parts a reliable, historically grounded resource. This is repertoire for musicians ready to engage with the full complexity of Tchaikovsky's orchestral writing.

• Balance the solo keyboard part as a true soloist; the dance dialogue depends on hearing the dancer's technical conversation with the pianist, not buried underneath the orchestra.
• Lock the harp and string section into a unified rhythmic pulse, especially during the repeated passages where Tchaikovsky leans on arpeggiation and sustained harmonic motion to support the dancer's technical phrases.
• Shape the melodic lines with the dancers' musicality in mind; this music must breathe and yield to the phrasing demands of the choreography, which may not align with purely musical phrase structures.
• Give the trumpet passages (particularly in the climactic sections) a bright, almost fanfare-like character to support the visual spectacle of the Black Swan's virtuosity.

Program this as a standalone orchestral piece for a concert celebrating great ballet music, or pair it with other excerpts from Swan Lake to create a curated suite. Its theatrical impact and technical demands make it ideal for concerts showcasing your orchestra's principal musicians and collaborative relationships with local dance institutions. The work's fame also makes it an excellent choice for family concerts or season openers where the audience arrives already invested in the music.

• Rhythmic precision and subdivision within a steady, dance-driven pulse
• Orchestral balance between solo keyboard and tutti sections
• Stylistic phrasing that accommodates choreographic timing and breath
• Reading and executing rapid string passages and harp arpeggiation
• Understanding harmonic function and voice leading in nineteenth-century Romantic orchestration