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Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое Озеро, Lebedinoye Ozero) is a ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, by Vladimir Begichev and Vasiliy Geltser was fashioned from Russian folk tales as well as an ancient German legend, which tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger. The ballet received its premiere on February 27, 1877, at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow as The Lake of the Swans. Although it is presented in many different versions, most ballet companies base their stagings both choreographically and musically on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on January 15, 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre's chief conductor and composer Riccardo Drigo.

From the notes: Claudio Arrau [1903-1991] has perhaps the widest performing repertoire of any pianist in history, but four composers were central to it: Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin and Schumann. These composers he played in concerts and recordings all his life, reaching ever greater depths in interpretation as the years went by."… "Arrau's interpretations of Schumann and Chopin stress the darker, more complex and dramatic sides of the composers' personalities." Notes by Peter Warwick