In 1876 Tschaikowsky composed his ballet 'Swan Lake' Op. 20. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular of all ballets. 'Swan Lake' was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. In 1882 Tschaikowsky himself considered creating a concert suite out of numbers from the ballet which he had composed six years previously. The suite in 6 movements became a popular piece in the concert repertoire. The 'Swan Theme' is the first movement of the Suite.