Scheherazade, Op. 35
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)

THE STORY

     When Alexander Borodin died unexpectedly, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov took over the task of completing his opera Prince Igor. That work was filled with musical references to Central Asia, and it must have captured Rimsky-Korsakov’s imagination; he channeled this inspiration into a four-movement orchestral suite, Scheherazade, one of the most dazzling and colorful works in the orchestral repertoire. 
     The work is based on the Arabian folk tales collected in The One Thousand and One Nights, in which a vengeful Sultan’s clever wife, Scheherazade, saves her life by weaving intriguing tales for her husband—always ending on a cliffhanger to keep him wanting more, night after night. 
     Rimsky-Korsakov wrote this introduction to the suite: “The Sultan Schariar, convinced that all women are false and faithless, vowed to put to death each of his wives after the first nuptial night. But the Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by entertaining her lord with fascinating tales, told seriatim, for a thousand and one nights. The Sultan, consumed with curiosity, postponed from day to day the execution of his wife, and finally repudiated his bloody vow entirely.”
     The titles of the four sections of the work are vague enough that they can’t be associated with specific tales—exactly as Rimsky-Korsakov intended. He cautioned that the listener need not listen too closely for specific characters or events in the music, and that he meant the titles “to direct but slightly the hearer’s fancy” as we embark on a fairy-tale adventure.

LISTEN FOR

• The musical depictions of the Sultan and Sultana—the growling, menacing opening statement from the Sultan and Scheherazade’s response in the form of a hypnotic solo violin with ethereal chords in the harp

• The waves in “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship” evoked by rollicking accompaniment in the cellos, and bright melodies that call to mind ocean sunrises; Rimsky-Korsakov may have felt nostalgia for his past career in the navy

• After an introduction from Scheherazade (voiced by the solo violin), a wistful, Eastern-flavored bassoon solo in “The Kalendar Prince”

• Lyrical, romantic music in “The Young Prince and The Young Princess,” including a heart-racing, fluttering, scalar figure in the clarinet that one could imagine to be a first kiss

• In the finale, the return of themes from the second and third movements, ultimately resolving in a peaceful conclusion as Scheherazade wins the heart of the Sultan—and can finally get a good night’s rest!

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, two flutes, two oboes (one doubling English horn), two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, strings