The following review of Mary Jane Rupert's arrangement of The Nutcracker for flute and piano was written by John Ranck. It was published in the December, 2013 issue of The Flute View.
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The Nutcracker, by P. Tchaikovsky
Arranged for Flute and Piano by Mary Jane Rupert
This attractively-produced transcription contains all of the movements in the suite derived from that composition of the Nutcracker (except the Overture), a perennial favorite at Christmastime. In addition to providing a good selection of holiday tunes to entertain listeners during holiday parties, this edition will more importantly give flutists an opportunity to get most of the ballet's difficult flute passages under their fingers in context (in preparation for potential auditions), as well as giving them a crack at the lovely oboe solo in the Arab Dance movement.
Dr. Rupert is a master at transcribing piano parts for the harp, and, as is clear from this arrangement, at orchestral reductions. Pianists, however, will have their work cut out for them in the Waltz of the Flowers, especially the harp solo contained therein. The flute part is well laid out, avoiding awkward page turns; pianists will most likely want a page turner in the faster movements like Trepak.
John Ranck, DMA
http://johnranck.net/studio/studio.html
