Sochi Olympic Figure Skating music - Classical Music showcase part I

Now that the Sochi Winter Olympic games are over, I thought it would be nice to look back at some of the beautiful classical music pieces featured in the free skate program by American figure skaters Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner.

Today we will start with Gracie, who skated first adorned in a beautiful interpretation of Sleeping Beauty's blue ball gown at the end of Disney's film. Her music? A montage of scenes from the ballet Sleeping Beauty composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Previously, I've made posts about the Nutcracker, another famous ballet score composed by Tchaikovsky. Together, Sleeping Beauty, the Nutcracker, and Swan Lake are a trio of masterpieces by the composer and arguably the most famous ballet scores of all time.

It was hard finding a good youtube version of Gracie's free skate without annoying commentary, so instead I've chosen to showcase the more famous waltz from the ballet suite instead.

In the waltz below, if you watched the disney movie you'll recognize the song "Once upon a Dream" that was written based on the original melody Tchaikovsky composed for the ballet. In a creepy rendition, Angelina Jolie also sings the originally bright and cheerful melody in the sinister preview of the upcoming Disney movie Maleficent. Check it out!

Waltz (Act 1 no. 6) from the Sleeping Beauty Suite (Op. 66) - Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky