Play ballet music on the piano! A curated selection of exquisite masterpieces that color iconic scenes

Ballet, with its dancers in beautiful costumes and their dazzling, elegant movements, is truly captivating.

Beyond the dance itself, the music—essential to the unfolding of each story—is also incredibly appealing, filled with melodies that linger in the memory.

This time, we’ve selected only the most famous pieces from the world of ballet music—masterworks that even those not familiar with ballet have likely heard somewhere.

Alongside piano performance videos, we’ll share the background and allure of each piece.

While ballet music is typically performed by an orchestra, some of the works we’ll introduce here include arrangements for solo piano based on the original ballet scores.

Enjoy exploring the world of ballet while appreciating the differences from the originals!

Playlist

Play ballet music on the piano! A curated selection of exquisite masterpieces that color iconic scenes
	Title	Playlist	Review
1	“Waltz of the Flowers” from the ballet The NutcrackerPyotr Tchaikovsky		Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker
2	Scene from the ballet music Swan LakePyotr Tchaikovsky		Scene from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake
3	Ten Pieces from the Ballet “Romeo and Juliet,” Op. 75Sergei Prokofiev		Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet
4	March from The Nutcracker SuiteTchaikovsky = Pletnev		Piano arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s March from The Nutcracker
5	“Waltz” from the ballet The Sleeping BeautyPyotr Tchaikovsky		Waltz from Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty
6	Waltz from the ballet CoppeliaLéo Delibes		The famous waltz from Delibes' ballet Coppélia
7	BoleroMaurice Ravel		The Features and Appeal of Ravel’s Boléro
8	‘Sabre Dance’ from the ballet GayaneAram Khachaturian		Sabre Dance by Khachaturian
9	Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65Carl Maria von Weber		An Elegant Waltz for Weber's Wife
10	Scheherazade, Op. 35Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov		Rimsky's Scheherazade
11	Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61 (incidental music)Felix Mendelssohn		Mendelssohn “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Wedding March
12	Waltz from the ballet music Swan LakePyotr Tchaikovsky		Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Waltz
13	Giselle’s Variation from the ballet music “Giselle”Adolphe Adam		The music and story of the ballet Giselle composed by Adolphe Adam
14	Kitri’s Variation from the ballet Don QuixoteLéon Minkus		Introducing Minkus’s ballet music: Kitri’s Variation
15	From the ballet music Ma mère l’Oye: 5. The Fairy GardenMaurice Ravel		Introduction to the finale 'The Fairy Garden' from Ravel's Ma mère l’Oye
16	The Rite of SpringIgor Stravinsky		A musical revolutionary work by The Rite of Spring
17	Noble and Sentimental Waltzes: No. 1, Modéré (Moderato), G majorMaurice Ravel		Ravel’s waltz, a modern and elegant masterpiece