SCHEHEREZADE , ALSOP & MONTERO
like Sadko and Antar . Frankly , though , his soon-to-be students likely know more of formal music theory than he . Rimsky- Korsakov realizes that he has been hasty : “ Had I possessed a fraction more of knowledge than I actually did ,” he would later write , “ it would have been obvious to me that I could not and should not accept the proffered appointment [ but ] I was young and self-confident [ and ] accepted without blinking .” Determined to meet the demands of his new role nonetheless , he embarks on an intense program of self-study , working tirelessly to always remain ahead of his pupils , and , miraculously , he succeeds !
Writing later in life , Rimsky-Korsakov reflected on his youthful disdain for formal study and the outcome of his efforts : “ I consider myself lucky that I bethought myself in time and forced myself to work . As for [ the other members of the Russian Mighty Five ] Balakirev , owing to his insufficient technique he writes little ; Borodin , with difficulty ; Cui , carelessly ; and Mussorgsky , sloppily and often incoherently .” By the 1880s , Rimsky-Korsakov returned to orchestral composition with renewed vigor , and this decade gave rise to some of the composer ’ s most enduring works , including Scheherazade .
Rimsky-Korsakov ’ s symphonic suite Scheherazade was inspired by One Thousand and One Nights ( Arabian Nights ), a collection of Eastern folk tales that had long captivated Western audiences . The tales are bound together by the frame narrative of Scheherazade . A resourceful storyteller , Scheherazade saves her own life from the embittered Sultan Shahryar who , betrayed by his unfaithful wife , resolved to execute his subsequent brides after their wedding night , by weaving a series of enthralling , nightly tales .
In composing the suite , Rimsky- Korsakov aimed to evoke the “ fairy-tale wonders ” and “[ Eastern ] character ” of Arabian Nights , not to depict a definite program . The composer drew inspiration from separate and unconnected episodes from the collection — in order of the suite ’ s movements , the sea and Sinbad ’ s ship , the narrative of the Kalender prince , the young Prince and Princess , and the Festival at Baghdad — but employed these “ seeming leitmotives ” only as musical material for symphonic development . Two themes are central to the score : the Sultan Shahryar ’ s theme that opens the symphonic suite in brass and woodwinds supported by strings and Scheherazade ’ s sinuous theme , which is heard after the woodwind chords that follow the Sultan ’ s theme as a violin solo with harp accompaniment . The stern Sultan ’ s theme may open the score , but it is Scheherazade ’ s knowing voice , via the violin , that ends the suite ; it is Scheherazade , this brave , cunning , resourceful woman , who thus guides the story to its resolution , closing the storybook until the next reading should commence anew .
Instrumentation : Two flutes , piccolo , oboe , English horn , two clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , harp , and strings .
HEATHER O ’ DONOVAN is an artist and writer whose program notes have appeared at Carnegie Hall , the Manhattan School of Music , the Aspen Music Festival and School , and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra . She is the dramaturg and librettist of Princess Ida : The Glow Up , a Gilbert & Sullivan adaptation to be premiered by the Manhattan School of Music Undergraduate Opera Theatre in May 2025 .
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