Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade | Christian Măcelaru | WDR Symphony Orchestra

Introduction The collection of stories entitled ‘One Thousand and One Nights’ has inspired numerous composers. The best‑known musicalisation is certainly the symphonic suite ‘Scheherazade’ by Nikolai Rimsky‑Korsakov. Like Bedřich Smetana's ‘Moldau’ or Paul Dukas' ‘The Sorcerer's Apprentice’, it is considered the epitome of programme music. However, the composer himself saw it differently. Rimsky‑Korsakov did not even originally intend to give the four movements programmatic titles. He only added them at the suggestion of his student Anatoly Lyadov. This is how Rimsky‑Korsakov described his intention in this regard: ‘The headings were only intended to guide the listener's imagination in the direction that my own imagination had taken while composing. The elaboration of the details should be left to the imagination and the mood of each individual listener.’ Rimsky‑Korsakov also preceded his score with a substantive introduction: ’Sultan Schahriar, convinced of the falseness and unfaithfulness of women, had sworn to have each of his wives killed after the first night. But Scheherazade, the daughter of the Grand Vizier, saved her life by capturing his interest with the fairy tales she told him during the Thousand and One Nights. Under the impact of the suspense, the sultan postponed Scheherazade's execution from day to day, and finally he abandoned the cruel decision altogether.’ In each of the four movements of the suite, Rimsky‑Korsakov musically depicts one of these tales. In doing so, he shaped some details so vividly that they are quite clear to interpret. There are two musical motifs in particular: one sounds right at the beginning and characterises the brutal sultan with its sonic force. The other describes the realm of Scheherazade with shimmering garlands of the solo violin and harp. It is clear: a sophisticated storyteller who has mastered all the finesses and stratagems of building suspense. And omnipresent in this work is the surging sea. Rimskij‑Korsakov's ‘Scheherazade’: a musical picture sheet of tonal splendour. Text: Otto Hagedorn 00:00:00 - I. The Sea and Sinbad's Ship. 00:10:38 - II. The Legend of the Kalendar Prince. 00:23:23 - III. The Young Prince and The Young Princess. 00:34:12 - IV. Festival at Baghdad. The Sea. Ship Breaks upon a Cliff Surmounted by a Bronze Horseman.