Charles Mackerras authority on Mozart's operas and those of Sir Arthur Sullivan. His ballet with John Cranko, "Pineapple Poll", is an arrangement of Sullivan music with a story based on one of W. S. Gilbert's "Bab Ballads". The piece premiered in 1951, soon after the expiration of copyright on Sullivan's music, and continues to be a popular light music favourite in English speaking countries. Mackerras later arranged music by Giuseppe Verdi for the ballet "The Lady and the Fool". He also arranged a suite from John Ireland's score for the 1946 film "The Overlanders", after Ireland's death in 1962. He became principal
Music for an Aquatic Ballet Music for an Aquatic Ballet Music for an Aquatic Ballet is the most commonly used title to refer to an untitled composition by American avant-garde composer John Cage. It was presumably finished in 1938, for its performance at the National Aquatic Show in Los Angeles. Even though the score of the composition is lost and has never been published nor performed after its premiere, some of Cage's fellow musicians have loosely reconstructed it. This composition was commissioned by the Physical Education Department of the University of California, Los Angeles to celebrate the National Aquatic Show at the Olympic Swim Stadium