Symphonic Dances from Fiddler on the Roof

The suite opens with music from "Tradition," the number that introduces the fiddler's world of Anatevka, its folk-flavored melody carried by strings and woodwinds. From there the music moves into the Wedding Dance, sometimes called the Bottle Dance, built on a steady, insistent rhythm that grows louder and faster as if a circle of dancers were picking up speed, with the orchestra imitating the balancing bottles on the dancers' hats. A gentler section follows, drawn from the courtship of Perchik and Hodel, its melody more lyrical and reflective than the dance numbers around it. The Chava Sequence brings a change of color, a wordless, almost mournful waltz written for the moment a daughter leaves her family's faith, and it is often the emotional center of the suite, with solo lines passed between instruments over a rocking accompaniment. The suite closes with music from "To Life," the tavern celebration, which builds from a raised-glass toast into a full-orchestra dance with pounding rhythm and rising energy, ending the piece on a note of communal, boisterous joy. Because it is a medley of theater tunes rather than a symphonic argument, listeners can expect the pleasure of recognition, tune following tune, rather than long-range musical development.

Fiddler on the Roof, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, opened on Broadway in 1964 and became one of the most popular musicals of the twentieth century, drawing on stories by Sholem Aleichem about a Jewish milkman and his family in a Russian village. The show's dances, choreographed by Jerome Robbins, were as central to its identity as its songs, particularly the bottle dance at the wedding and the raucous tavern celebration "To Life." This concert suite gathers that dance and instrumental music into a single orchestral work, allowing symphony audiences to hear the score's most vivid theatrical moments without the accompanying story or songs. It has since become a popular choice for pops programs and orchestral concerts wanting a familiar, crowd-pleasing selection of Broadway material.